Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program helps families focus on care, not costs
Willow and her family from Bloomfield, NB, received support through Irving Oil's Fuel the Care program.
Saint John, NB – For more than two decades, Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program has been helping families focus on what matters most—caring for their children—by easing the financial burden of required travel to access pediatric medical care.
Since 2002, Fuel the Care has supported more than 120,000 families by providing fuel gift cards through partnerships with hospitals across Eastern Canada, New England and Ireland. With more than $7 million invested to date, the program continues to make a meaningful difference for parents and caregivers.
“We are incredibly proud of the impact Fuel the Care continues to have in the communities we serve,” says Jennifer Beach, Irving Oil's Executive Vice President, People & Business Transformation. “Thanks to the ongoing support of our customers, we are able to help thousands of families every year by reducing the stress and cost of travel, allowing them to focus on their child’s care and recovery.”
When Dyllan Taylor was 25 weeks pregnant, she underwent an emergency C-section to deliver her daughter Willow. She says the Fuel the Care program helped ease some of the family’s financial burden of daily trips from their home in Bloomfield, NB, to the Saint John Regional Hospital.
For 114 consecutive days, Dyllan drove an hour each way to the Saint John hospital to be with her baby, while her toddler Lyle was in daycare. She says Fuel the Care was also there for the family three years earlier when Lyle required hospitalization at IWK Health in Halifax, NS.
“When our first baby was airlifted to the IWK at just three weeks old, Fuel the Care helped my family stay together while juggling the travel between home, work and the hospital. Years later, when our daughter arrived at just 25 weeks, knowing that Irving's support was already there was a huge weight off our shoulders,” Dyllan says.
“Fuel the Care helped our family when we needed it most and it can help other families too.”
Fuel the Care is supported by a network of dedicated partner hospitals, where social workers identify families in need and distribute fuel gift cards directly to those facing frequent or long-distance travel for pediatric medical care.
“For families navigating a child's medical journey, the financial and emotional strain of travelling for care can be overwhelming. Fuel the Care helps ease that burden, allowing parents and caregivers to focus on what matters most: their child's health and well-being,” says Shannon Hunter, President & CEO, Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Irving Oil in delivering meaningful support that helps families access the specialized pediatric care they need, when they need it.”
For families supported through the program, the impact is immediate and meaningful, helping to support access to care without the added stress of transportation costs.
In their words
“For more than 20 years, Irving Oil's Fuel the Care program has helped ease the burden of travel for families with children receiving care at the Janeway. Through the donation of fuel gift cards, the program helps offset the cost of travelling to and from medical appointments, allowing parents and caregivers to focus on what matters most, their child's health and well-being.” Edward Kinsella, Social Assistance Worker, Janeway Children’s Health & Rehabilitation Centre, St. John’s, NL
"We are deeply grateful for Irving Oil's longstanding partnership and commitment to families across the Maritimes. Through Fuel the Care, Irving Oil helps ease the financial burden of travel for families accessing care at the IWK, providing meaningful support during challenging moments.” Trena Crewe, Vice President, Philanthropy & Development, IWK Foundation, Halifax, NS
"It is easy to see how much the Irving Fuel the Care program means to the families we support at the IWK. As social workers, we try to decrease the stress associated with hospital appointments/stays as much as possible—often supporting the basic, practical costs associated with receiving medical care is the first step to helping families access and feel comfortable coming to the IWK. The Fuel the Care program gives us the resources to provide this essential support." Phoebe Johnston, Clinical Social Worker, IWK Health, Halifax, NS
Fuel the Care 2026 initiatives
This year, Fuel the Care Day will take place on Friday, September 18, bringing Irving Oil employees together across Canada, the United States and Ireland to thank customers for their continued support. As part of this celebration, customers can enter for a chance WIN Free Fuel for a Year, a $500 donation to a cause of their choice or a $250 fuel gift card.
In addition to Fuel the Care Day, our teams will offer free parking for visitors at select partner hospitals to reduce out-of-pocket costs, as well as providing activity and craft supplies to pediatric patients at our partner hospitals.
Fuel the Care Pumps
Customers can also support the program directly through dedicated Fuel the Care Pumps available at select Irving locations. Contributions are made automatically with each fuel purchase at these pumps, helping extend support to even more families in need.
Care Pump locations
- Halifax, NS: One cent per litre donated to the IWK Foundation
- Pembroke, MA: Four cents per gallon donated to Tufts Medical Center
- Ireland: One cent per litre donated to the Children’s Health Foundation
Fuel the Care partner hospitals
- New Brunswick: Saint John Regional Hospital
- Nova Scotia: IWK Health
- Newfoundland & Labrador: Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre
- Quebec: Santé Québec CHU de Québec-Université Laval
- Maine: Northern Light Health
- New Hampshire: Golisano Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth Health
- Massachusetts: Tufts Medical Center, Mass General Brigham for Children
- Ireland: Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street, Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght, Children’s Health Ireland at Connolly
For more information, visit Irving Oil or Top Oil social media channels or visit fuelthecare.ca.
Irving Oil:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/irvingoil
Instagram: @irving_oil
Top Oil:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TOPOilFuelingIreland
Instagram: @topoil_fueling_ireland
About Irving Oil
Irving Oil is a privately held international energy company. For more than 100 years, our commitment to doing good business has been grounded in our commitment to people – to our employees, customers, communities and partners. Founded in 1924, our mission is focused on our continued evolution to meet the changing needs of our customers. Specializing in the refining and marketing of finished energy products, we operate Canada’s largest refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Ireland’s only refinery, located in the village of Whitegate. We proudly serve customers through more than 1,000 fuelling locations supported by a network of distribution terminals spanning Eastern Canada, New England and in Ireland, operating under the Top brand. Named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 10 consecutive years and one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People, we are proud of our team and our longstanding commitment to our customers and our communities. Learn more at www.irvingoil.com.
Media contact:
April Cunningham
[email protected]
506.651.7417