AgroPlus, FCM, local producers help Christmas Hope

By Lethbridge Herald on December 19, 2020.

Submitted photo Harv Reimer and Gary Kroker of AgroPlus Inc. present a $6,000 cheque to Danielle McIntyre of Interfaith Food Bank, to benefit Christmas Hope.

The Christmas Hope campaign has received a $6,000 donation from AgroPlus Inc. which mobilized farmers around Lethbridge to maximize a donation from FMC Canada.
The Christmas Hope collaboration includes Interfaith Food Bank, Lethbridge Food Bank, Lethbridge Family Services Angel Tree, Salvation Army Toys for Tots, and My City Care Shop of Wonders.
FMC created the Clean Fields, Community Yields program in the spring. FMC staff saw a need to support community organizations and projects affected by COVID-19 disruptions. FMC territory managers asked retailers to choose worthy charities to receive 10-cents/acre of any FMC fall herbicide sold locally before October 31.
AgroPlus Inc. in Lethbridge chose Christmas Hope and the Do More Agriculture Foundation as their charity partners.
“Thanks to over 200 agriculture retailers and FMC customers our impact will be much bigger than we hoped,” said Jordan Brisebois, product manager at FMC, in a news release. “We’re going to be donating tens of thousands of dollars across Western Canada.”
Harv Reimer of AgroPlus Inc. in Lethbridge said his farmer customers were enthusiastic about the Clean Fields, Community Yields program. After all the receipts were counted a total of $13,000 will be donated by FMC on behalf of AgroPlus and local growers.
“The fall business cycle was really good with many farms producing some good yields,” says Reimer. “We got our staff together and considered all the charities we could donate to and decided we wanted to make a difference for local kids at Christmas.”
Christmas Hope was a natural choice, supplying needy families in the Lethbridge area with emergency food including a proper Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, as well as gifts for children 18 and under. It’s been a tough year for many charities with regular fundraising events being cancelled. It’s also been hard to mobilize volunteers due to social distancing requirements.
“This donation from AgroPlus and FMC Canada will make a big impact,” says Danielle McIntyre, executive director of the Interfaith Food Bank, “It’s great to see the Christmas Hope collaboration receiving such tremendous support from our agricultural community.”
The Do More Ag Foundation is the other charity chosen by AgroPlus. It is a not-for-profit organization focusing on mental health in agriculture across Canada. Reimer says he’s encouraged that people in the industry are talking about farmer mental health. FMC will be making a $7,000 donation to Do More Ag on behalf of AgroPlus and its customers.
For more information about Christmas Hope, visit http://www.ChristmasHope.ca or contact any of the partner organizations.

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