Wawanesa Commits $2 Million to New Community Impact Program Called Wawanesa Climate Champions

New community partners include: Youth Climate Lab, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Tree Canada, New Acre Project by ALUS, Nature Force by Ducks Unlimited Canada, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), FireSmart™ Canada, Farmers for Climate Solutions, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), Canadian Red Cross

WINNIPEG, MB – To help people and communities become more climate resilient, The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (Wawanesa) announced today a $2 million annual community impact program called Wawanesa Climate Champions.

The program provides funding to support people and organizations working on the front lines to improve climate resiliency in communities across Canada.

“Climate resiliency is a growing need we see in every community,” said Jeff Goy, Wawanesa’s President and CEO. “As a mutual insurer, our goal is to have a positive impact in supporting mitigation and adaptiveness in communities to improve their climate resiliency. It’s an exciting next step in our long legacy of being there for our communities in times of need.”

The program will financially support three pillars of Climate Champions:

1. Environmental Guardians – conservationists, farmers and Indigenous Peoples working on nature-based solutions for climate resiliency.
2. Community Protectors – disaster preventers, responders and rebuilders working to protect people and communities from climate-related disasters.
3. Youth Stewards – the next generation of leaders taking action to help our communities become more climate resilient.

A full list of the inaugural Wawanesa Climate Champions partners can be found here.

In launching this new program, Wawanesa has produced a short video (view it here) that captures the spirit and intent of the company’s growing commitment to climate resiliency.

Wawanesa has a long history of charitable giving going back over 125 years. Wawanesa Climate Champions is part of an overall $3.5 million community impact program that includes an annual company-wide United Way campaign and other volunteer and community support programs.

As well, the program reflects a strengthening focus at Wawanesa in deepening its business operations around issues related to sustainability and climate resiliency:

• Last year, Wawanesa introduced its Stronger Home and Eco-Friendly products, which help members make their property more resilient following a loss.
• The company’s Community Wildfire Prevention Grants help communities protect themselves from the threat of wildfires.

About The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company

The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, founded in 1896, is one of Canada’s largest mutual insurers, with $4 billion in annual revenue and assets of nearly $12 billion. Wawanesa Mutual, with executive offices in Winnipeg, is the parent company of Wawanesa General, which offers property and casualty insurance in California and Oregon; Wawanesa Life, which provides life insurance products and services throughout Canada; and Western Financial Group, which distributes personal and business insurance across Canada. Wawanesa proudly serves more than two million members in Canada and the United States. Wawanesa actively gives back to organizations that strengthen communities where it operates, donating well above internationally recognized benchmarks for excellence in corporate philanthropy. Learn more at wawanesa.com

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For more information:

Brad Hartle
Senior Communications Specialist, Media Relations
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
Phone: 1-844-946-6282
media@wawanesa.com