Sears In Your Community
Since our beginning in 1953, Sears has always believed in giving back to the communities we serve. At Sears Canada, our commitment is focused on helping young Canadians reach their full potential by supporting local initiatives that contribute positively to their development.
The need for quality childcare outside the school day continues to be a major concern for Canadian families.
- Two-thirds of Canadian children are not sufficiently active for optimal physical and mental development. Recreation and physical activity are proven to reduce depression, stress, loneliness and self-destructive behaviour and crime in youth.
- Recent studies have shown that youth who are not involved in after-school programs are almost 50% more likely to use drugs and one-third more likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy as a teen.
- Children from low-income families are three times less likely to participate in extracurricular learning opportunities than children from high-income families due to cost barriers.
Sears In Your Community (formerly Sears Young Futures) initiatives provide funding to quality, supervised after school programs that inspire young Canadians to believe in themselves so they can grow up to be healthy, confident adults. By investing in our young people today, we'll be making our communities better in the future. Through the years, we have supported leading programs such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, the Canadian 4-H Council, Scouts Canada, Sears I CAN SWIM, the Sears Ontario Drama Festival, among others.
Our associates and customers also play a key role in helping our communities by participating in our in-store fundraising campaigns such as "Round if Off" (where customers round off their purchases to the nearest dollar) and the sales of seasonal plush toys. Our customers also generously donate their Sears Club Points in our matching program, which has raised more than $250,000 since 2000. Last year, these combined fundraising efforts helped us raise an additional amount of $850,000 over our corporate commitment which we directed to support local after school programs.
Sears also lends it support to causes that are important to our customers and associates such as the Pink Ribbon Campaign in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and we respond to specific community needs such as Operation Enfant Soleil, an innovative program that helps to raise funds for pediatric care in Quebec.
Sears Canada is a company who cares. We go beyond the traditional chequebook when it comes to helping our communities and Canada's youth.
For specific information about Sears In Your Community, please contact your local Sears store.
Sears In Your Community initiatives support:
Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada
Working with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to expand and enrich after school programming for young people across Canada.
Sears Ontario Drama Festival ®
More than 10,000 students and teachers from more than 350 secondary schools throughout Ontario participate each year in one of the largest student drama festivals in the world-the Sears Ontario Drama Festival!
Sears I CAN SWIM
Recognizing that physical activity and family interaction plays a significant role in a child's growth and development, Sears has teamed up with I CAN SWIM Inc., Swimming/Natation Canada and its provincial sections, to provide the I CAN SWIM program across Canada. For people of all ages and levels, this program teaches the essential skills at a pace that's right for everyone - even future Olympians!
Sears National Kids Cancer Ride
Sears Canada is proud to announce a new charitable relationship with Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization which has raised over $2,500,000.00 through many varied cycling events to benefit children living with and beyond cancer and their families. As a major part of this on-going support initiative, cyclists from across Canada are be able to register for an annual trans-Canada summer cycling adventure, traveling nearly 7600 km in an epic trek from Vancouver to Halifax in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride.Funds raised from the ride and in-store events benefit Canadian children's cancer charities.
Canadian 4- H Council
For close to 50 years, Sears Canada has been a proud sponsor of the Canadian 4-H Council. The 4-H Council administers a variety of programs which are designed to encourage the growth and development of Canada's rural youth.
Opération Enfant Soleil (Québec only)
Help Operation Enfant Soleil ensure that sick children receive the best care.
Scouts Canada
Sears is proud to sponsor Scouts Canada's SCOUTSabout program. SCOUTSabout is everything Scouting knows about programming for children ages 5-10, but packaged differently. Offered in 3-month modules, SCOUTSabout is run after-school in schools or community centres, or sometimes during school breaks and summer vacation. SCOUTSabout is of particular application in urban centres and rural areas with children in non-tradtional family settings.
Girl Guides of Canada
Sears is a proud supporter of the Girl Guides of Canada and their development of young women and youth. Guiding today is a unique blend of the old and the new. It's fun, active and relevant. It addresses the pressures that modern girls face by teaching them exciting skills in a safe environment.
In addition, each Sears retail store is partnered with a local charity group for in-store fund-raising events such as our Collectible Plush sales and popular "Round It Off" days.
Sears Operation Wish
Bringing Military Families Together over the Holiday Season
Sears launched Operation Wish in 2006 in coordination with the Canadian Forces Personnel and Family Support Services (CFPFSS). The program allows Canadian Troops stationed abroad to place online orders for their loved ones from the Sears Wish Book® catalogue and sears.ca. Copies of the catalogue are sent to Canadian Soldiers, Sailors and Air Force personnel posted to operational missions overseas, including Afghanistan where Canada has its largest contingency of troops stationed outside of their home bases.
Donations
Sears Canada limits its charitable partnerships to registered Canadian organizations that support our national mandate of supporting children's and youth after-school programming and children's cancer charities. Sears has selected its charitable partners for this year and is not seeking new applications for charitable partnerships. While we know there are many deserving organizations, we are unable to honour all of the requests we receive each year. By maintaining our focus on the few organizations with which we have a history, we are able to make our contributions more meaningful.
Thank you for your interest in Sears Canada's community investment.
