Local Canadian Tire Stores Celebrate The Holiday Spirit With Goal To Raise $100,000 For Cardiac Care

Join the season of giving this year by helping local Canadian Tire stores reach their goal of raising $100,000 by December 24^th in support of critical cardiac equipment at Royal Jubilee Hospital—the Island’s referral centre for cardiac care.

Starting November 24th, shoppers can make a donation of any denomination at the checkout at local Canadian Tire stores including Hillside, View Royal, Royal Oak, North Saanich, and Langford.

The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is thrilled to recognize the 21^st consecutive year of this unique campaign. Funds raised during this year’s campaign will go towards a Cryocath CryoConsole for Royal Jubilee Hospital. This essential piece of equipment will help restore heart health for individuals experiencing arrhythmias. By using cold temperature therapy to target problem cells, this minimally invasive procedure helps restore a regular heartbeat and improve quality of life. This also ensures patients can receive the care they need in their community, rather than traveling to another centre for life-changing treatments.

Fix-A-Heart began in 2003 with former Langford Canadian Tire store owner Peter Spillette. Peter was a champion of cardiac care on Vancouver Island and when he passed away in 2008, Canadian Tire owners and staff honoured his vision with a $1 million commitment to leading-edge cardiac equipment at RJH. All five owners are contributing to this annual tradition that runs from November 24 to December 24.

This year, thanks to the generosity of local Canadian Tire store owners, all donations towards the campaign up will be matched up to $20,000.

“As local businesses, we are committed to giving back to the community that supports us,” said John Cunningham, owner of the North Saanich Canadian Tire. “Heart health impacts so many families, and we want to do our part to ensure that our community has access to the best possible cardiac care. By supporting Fix-A-Heart, we’re not only helping fund critical treatments and equipment, but we’re also investing in the well-being of our friends, neighbours, and loved ones.”

Between 2003 to 2020, Fix-A-Heart raised over $1 million for important cardiac care equipment at RJH. The initiative has helped fund 90 pieces of equipment including ECG machines, critical care beds, a Catheterization Lab C-Arm, Telemetry Monitors, and cardiac ultrasounds.

In 2021, the Hillside, Langford, View Royal, Royal Oak, and North Saanich Canadian Tire stores, as well as the Gordon Head Auto Centre, generously renewed their commitment to raise an additional $1 million for cardiac care at RJH over the next 10 years.

“The Victoria Hospitals Foundation looks forward to celebrating our ongoing partnership with local Canadian Tire stores this holiday season,” says Danielle Mulligan, Manager of Events & Annual Giving, Victoria Hospitals Foundation. “The Fix-A-Heart campaign embodies joyful philanthropy and empowers our award-winning Heart Health program and cardiac care teams with the resources that keep our hospitals on the leading edge.”

Royal Jubilee is the Heart Health referral centre for all 885,000+ residents of Vancouver Island. The Heart Health program administers to cardiac needs such as open-heart surgeries, angiograms, angioplasties, cardiac device insertions and electrophysiology procedures. Every year, over 200,000 Vancouver Island residents undergo cardiac assessment and more than 6,300 cardiac procedures. In 2018, this dynamic program celebrated its 25,000th open-heart surgery—a monumental milestone.