How we showed "RioCan Cares" during the pandemic

With Toronto and Peel Region moving to Stage 2 of reopening last week, I am pleased to say that all our RioCan shopping centres are officially open, and we are excited to welcome customers back in a safe and cautious manner.

 Of course, most of our locations never fully closed during the lockdown, as necessity-based tenants continued to play an important role in delivering essential services to Canadians. Our shopping centres showed themselves to be the true community hubs they are, quickly responding, adapting, and identifying new ways to connect and give back in a time of stress and uncertainty.

 If anything, the pandemic renewed RioCan’s sense of community, so much so that we launched a new program called “RioCan Cares”. While we have always been active in the community, RioCan Cares took it to another level and brought to life a coordinated, galvanizing effort across the country. Intended to underscore RioCan’s commitment to good corporate citizenship, here are a few of the initiatives RioCan Cares recently delivered:

 1.    “Thank you, healthcare workers” – For the month of May, which included International Nurses Day on May 12th, we organized a campaign at our shopping centres across the country to celebrate frontline healthcare workers and show our appreciation. This ranged from designated parking and priority line access at participating retailers, to discounts, care packages and other perks that tenants generously contributed. Garden City Shopping Centre in Winnipeg was amongst many RioCan locations that tailored support to the specific needs of the healthcare workers in their community. They facilitated food deliveries from their tenants to Seven Oaks General Hospital, through a bulk ordering system with daily touchless drop-offs.

 2.    Community Care – Recognizing that COVID-19 created urgent needs in our communities, we worked with charities and hospitals to provide assistance.  Burlington Centre partnered with The Gift of Giving Back, in tandem with six beneficiaries – the Burlington Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Food for Life, Halton Women’s Shelters, the Compassion Society and the Carpenter Hospice – to host a drive-thru food drop-off that generated more than 25,000 pounds of food for residents in need. Garden City, meanwhile, secured donations from tenants such as games and craft supplies, to bring joy to local hospital patients. In addition, RioCan Centres raised awareness and encouraged the public to donate to fundraising campaigns for local hospitals including North York General Hospital (Yonge Sheppard Centre) and Sunnybrook Hospital (Yonge Eglinton Centre).

 3.    Community Connection – RioCan locations also kept the community spirit alive through socially distanced events and other unique activities. Burlington Centre, in partnership with the Lions Club, ensured that the annual Farmers’ Market went ahead in their parking lot with physical distancing measures in place. The market had record-breaking traffic the first weekend it opened – a sure sign that Burlingtonians were craving connection. In addition, when the Burlington Rotary Club had to cancel their 26th annual Ribfest due to COVID-19 restrictions, they connected with Burlington Centre to find an alternative way to keep the tradition alive. As a result, Burlington Centre together with the Rotary Club, the City of Burlington and the Health Department are collaborating to host a drive-thru Ribfest at Burlington Centre on Canada Day. The Centre is also supporting local musicians by rotating four bands to entertain customers as they wait and dine in their cars. Another great example is Georgian Mall in Barrie, who infused their shopping centre with positive messaging crowd-sourced from the community. They tapped into the creativity of local children by inviting them to submit artwork celebrating “everything that makes them smile in the face of adversity.” The inspired artwork is now on display on the shopping centre’s community wall.

 I am so proud of our team for making these initiatives happen on short notice in a challenging moment. Their efforts were widely appreciated by the community and helped strengthen our relationships with customers, tenants, and local charities. This is just a taste of what RioCan Cares can achieve.

 As we welcome everyone back to our shopping centres, we will continue to collaborate with our community members and partners to learn what is needed and how RioCan can deliver tailored support to make a positive impact coast-to-coast.