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Teck initiates $20 million COVID-19 Response Fund

The donated money will go towards medical support and essential services
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The generous fund will assist with the pandemic on an international scale. File Photo

In a news release issued on April 16, Teck announced the implementation of a $20 million COVID-19 response fund. The fund was created to support pandemic related relief efforts, both in the communities where Teck operates, and internationally. To achieve its goals, the fund will be used for medical research, acquisition of medical supplies, sustenance of local healthcare systems, and international aid.

“The global health crisis posed by COVID-19 is unlike anything previously faced by companies, by families, and by communities. The scope and severity of this pandemic requires all of us to step up and do our part,” said Don Lindsay, Teck president and CEO. “This funding will help to protect the health and wellbeing of communities locally and globally during this challenging time, and support their long term economic and social recovery in the wake of COVID-19.”

Specifically, in an effort to support the Canadian healthcare system, Teck is providing $250,000 to the Vancouver General Hospital and the UBC Hospital Foundation. The money will be used to sustain medical research efforts pertaining to the COVID-19 virus. Through Teck’s Copper & Health program, they will also be donating an additional $1 million to fund initiatives geared towards advances in the use of copper to prevent and control infection.

In addition, Teck will be donating $250,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support health services by supplying more medical equipment and assisting with the deployment of their Emergency Response Unit field hospital.

Other initiatives falling under this fund, such as their donation of one million KN95 masks to healthcare workers throughout British Columbia, will likewise supply more personal protective equipment (PPE) for community and healthcare use.

“Meeting an unprecedented challenge requires unprecedented unity, empathy and consideration for one another,” said Lindsay. “Teck and its people are proud to play our part. There are many examples of our local operations embodying that same spirit, such as donating PPE to local frontline health workers, sharing their health and safety expertise with the community, and providing funding to local food banks. The collective response to this unprecedented threat has been truly extraordinary. It should give us every confidence that we will prevail and once it passes, as it surely will, we will all emerge stronger and more resilient than ever.”

Internationally speaking, Teck also set up a Community Response Fund to support local organizations in locations where they operate. Assisting Canadian, Alaskan, and Chilean communities, the fund will help with healthcare and social services in the face of the pandemic.

Furthermore, in partnership with the World Health Organization Solidarity Response Fund, Teck is donating $500,000 to UNICEF to send sanitation, medical equipment, and training to more than 180 countries around the world. In order to support children in rural Chinese communities, they will also be donating $250,000 to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

To learn more about this fund, visit Teck.com/updates.



reporter@thefreepress.ca

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