TD announces CAD$250,000 donation for wildfire and disaster relief prevention

Four Canadian organizations dedicated to mitigating the impact of wildfires and enhancing community resilience receive funding

TORONTO, May 7, 2024 /CNW/ - With active fires starting earlier than usual and many signs pointing to a potentially catastrophic wildfire season ahead, TD Bank Group (TD) today announced a CAD$250,000 donation to organizations focused on wildfire and disaster relief prevention across Canada, including in British Columbia, Alberta and Atlantic Canada.

According to recent metrics from sources including Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada, this season is projected to be Canada's worst wildfire season to date, underscoring the urgent need for proactive measures to address the escalating risk of wildfires. Currently, there are approximately 60 fires burning across the country, notably in northern British Columbia, northern Alberta, and the southern Northwest Territories.

"As a member of local communities across Canada, TD is fully aware of the distress, disruptions and destruction wildfires can cause" said Alicia Rose, Associate Vice President, Social Impact, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship. "One of the ways we aim to support our communities to be able to handle such tough moments is by providing funding to organizations working to help people stay safe, avoid the worst-case scenario and maintain access to daily necessities. We hope that our donation today will help such organizations to equip communities with the knowledge and tools they need to bolster their prevention and preparedness efforts so that they can proactively tackle wildfires risks and avoid being impacted as much as possible."

The CAD$250,000 donation from TD will be split equally among the following 4 organizations: 

First Nations Emergency Services Society (FNESS) of British Columbia plays a pivotal role in supporting First Nations communities in British Columbia with wildfire prevention, education, training, and emergency management response and planning. They are working in collaboration with communities across British Columbia to enhance their safety through programs that train, educate and support local leaders, equip communities, and provide assistance with accessing funding.

University of Alberta Wildfire Analytics Team works to develop practical, insightful, and accessible tools and approaches for immediate use by decision makers working to help social and ecological systems to thrive in fire prone environments. They are helping communities and fire authorities pre-plan evacuation routes, prioritize where to deploy their crews and proactively reduce fire fuel by conducting original research and working with fire managers.

CLIMAtlantic facilitates access to data and information that fosters collaboration among regional and local groups to help Atlantic Canadian communities to adapt to the challenges posed by wildfires and climate change.

GlobalFire (part of GlobalMedic) helps strengthen the emergency response capacity of organizations and communities around the world by collecting and donating fire suppression equipment, training local first responders in firefighting and first aid and performing Search and Rescue operations around the world. To support smaller Canadian municipalities, fire departments and Indigenous communities that need to bolster their current capacity, they created a lending library of equipment to help ensure areas of greatest need can be reached.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by assets and serves over 27.5 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank^®, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.), and an investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation; Wealth Management and Insurance, including TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities and TD Cowen. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with more than 17 million active online and mobile customers. TD had $1.91 trillion in assets on January 31, 2024. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE TD Bank Group