Fuel The Care Helps Families On The Road To Recovery
Program helps cover fuel costs for families required to travel for their children’s medical care
SAINT JOHN, NB — Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program is marking a significant milestone this year: more than 40,000 families from across Atlantic Canada and New England have now been helped by this program. This milestone coincides with the program’s 11th anniversary. The program provides fuel cards to families with a child facing critical health care challenges.
“We had to travel every two to three weeks to visit specialists and put a plan in place to save our son’s life before he was even born,” says Kelly Willington, whose son was born with a rare genetic disorder called Edwards Syndrome. “We were at the IWK Health Centre a lot, which meant travelling from Moncton. As a single-income family with three other kids, we were concerned about the cost of fuel; Fuel the Care has meant so much to us and not only helped relieve some of the financial burden but also helped us during a stressful and uncertain time in our lives.”
Social Workers at the IWK Health Centre and other partner hospitals in Atlantic Canada and New England work directly with patient families to help assess their needs and access Fuel the Care. “We see first-hand the impact this program has on families experiencing tremendous stress and worry,” says Heather Prosser, Social Worker at the Prenatal Special Care Unit at the IWK Health Centre. “It makes our role a little easier to be able to offer assistance to families in need, so they can focus on what’s most important – being together and helping their children.”
Fuel the Care Program partner hospitals in Atlantic Canada and New England include: the Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John, New Brunswick; the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Janeway Child Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador; Eastern Maine Healthcare Network in Maine and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD) in New Hampshire.
“It’s hard to imagine anything more worrying than having a sick child in the hospital, and it’s a privilege to be able to provide a degree of support to families in this situation,” says Paul Browning, President & CEO of Irving Oil. “We are deeply committed to Fuel the Care, which helps remove at least one small worry for families who have more important matters to focus on.”
On Irving Oil’s Facebook page, users are encouraged to add their support to Fuel the Care; by simply sharing the Fuel the Care message on their own page, users will be entered to win a $500 Irving Oil gift card and Irving Oil will contribute an extra $25 to the Fuel the Care program. For more information about Fuel the Care, visit www.facebook.com/irvingoil
About Irving Oil
Irving Oil is a privately owned regional energy and marketing company that provides Eastern Canada and New England with high-quality products and customer service. Founded in 1924 and based in Saint John, NB, Irving Oil maintains a strong tradition of committed community service and partnerships through programs in healthcare, the environment, education and youth sports. For more information about Irving Oil and its community programs, please visit us at https://www.irvingoil.com/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/irvingoil
Media contact:
Sam Robinson
Irving Oil
(506) 650-4947
[email protected]