Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program bridging the gap between home and hospital for families for more than two decades
Saint John, NB – Since 2002, Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program has focused on supporting families at a time when it is most needed.
The program helps ease some of the financial stress on parents and caregivers so they can focus on what’s most important – their children’s wellbeing.
Over the past 22 years, Fuel the Care has supported more than 100,000 families by providing fuel gift cards to a network of partner hospitals across Eastern Canada, New England and Ireland that support families requiring travel for a child's medical needs.
Parents Kyra and Justin Martin, of Newfoundland & Labrador, say the program provided welcomed support that helped them manage significant travel to access numerous medical appointments for their two-year-old son Zealan.
Diagnosed at birth with Lipomyelomeningocele, a rare spinal disease, Zealan underwent 22 surgeries between Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s, NL, and IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, NS.
“We wouldn’t have made it through this without a little extra help,” says Kyra. “Taking out the stress of how we would fill our fuel tank for each appointment helped more than anyone could understand.”
The IWK was the first partner hospital for the Fuel the Care program, which has since expanded to include nine hospitals in Canada, the US and Ireland. Hospital social workers administer the program and identify families in need who would benefit from Fuel the Care.
“Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program is so important to families who have a sick child and must travel to the IWK for specialized care,” says IWK Social Worker Mary Pam Vincer. “Fuel the Care allows families to focus on the wellness of their child and family as a whole rather than worrying about the cost of fuel and travel to the IWK.”
The Centre mère-enfant Soleil du CHU de Québec-Université Laval is celebrating 10 years as a Fuel the Care partner, which coincides with the centre’s 20th anniversary. Director Danielle Delisle says they’ve been fortunate to have the support of valuable partners like Irving Oil.
“With its Fuel the Care program, Irving directly helps the families of young patients who stay with us, which supports us in our mission to provide care to the pediatric population throughout eastern Quebec.”
Irving Oil will celebrate Fuel the Care Day on Wednesday, October 16, with employees at select retail sites in Canada, the US and Ireland thanking customers for supporting the program by choosing Irving Oil.
“We greatly appreciate the tremendous support of our customers that helps us in providing fuel cards to thousands of families each year in the regions where we operate,” says Darren Gillis, Irving Oil’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Every time you visit an Irving Oil or Top Oil location, choose Irving Energy to heat your home or enjoy a homestyle meal at our Irving Big Stop Restaurant, you’re helping to give families a lift when they need it most.”
Fuel the Care initiatives:
• Offering free parking to visitors at Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John, NB, IWK Health Centre in Halifax, NS, Janeway Children’s Health in St. John’s NL, Mass General Hospital for Children in Boston, MA, and Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin in Dublin, Ireland on October 15.
• Providing craft packs to distribute to young patients at our partnering hospitals on October 15.
• Customer appreciation events at 16 retail sites across our network on Fuel the Care Day, October 16.
Customers can also support Fuel the Care families directly, through no extra cost, by using dedicated “Care Pumps” that have been set up at various retail locations.
Care Pumps:
Halifax: One cent from every litre purchased at our designated pumps throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia are donated to the IWK Foundation to support families travelling to receive medical care for their child.
Pembroke: Four cents from every gallon purchased at our Fuel the Care Pump at The Irving in Pembroke, Massachusetts, will be donated to Tufts Medical Center to support families travelling to receive medical care for their child.
Ireland: One cent from every litre purchased at Care Pumps in Ballina, Kilkenny, Newhall and Cobh Cross is directly donated to the Children’s Health Foundation.
Fuel the Care partner hospitals:
• Nova Scotia: The IWK Health Centre
• Newfoundland & Labrador: Janeway Child Health and Rehabilitation Centre
• New Brunswick: Saint John Regional Hospital
• Quebec: Centre mère-enfant Soleil du CHU de Québec-Université Laval
• Maine: Northern Light Health
• New Hampshire: The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
• Massachusetts: Tufts Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
• Ireland: Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin, Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street, Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght, Children’s Health Ireland at Connolly.
For more information, visit Irving Oil and Top Oil’s social media channels, look for the #fuelthecare hashtag, or log on to the Fuel the Care webpage: fuelthecare.ca
Irving Oil:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/irvingoil
Instagram: @irving_oil
Twitter/X: @irvingoil
Top Oil:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TOPOilFuelingIreland
Instagram: @topoil_fueling_ireland
Twitter/X: @TopOil
About Irving Oil:
Irving Oil is a family-owned and privately-held international energy company. For 100 years, our commitment to doing good business has been grounded in our commitment to people – to our employees, customers, communities and partners. Founded in 1924, our mission is focused on our continued evolution to meet the changing needs of our customers. Specializing in the refining and marketing of finished energy products, we operate Canada’s largest refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Ireland’s only refinery, located in the village of Whitegate. We proudly serve customers with more than 1,000 fuelling locations and a network of distribution terminals spanning Eastern Canada, New England and in Ireland, operating under the Top brand. Named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for eight consecutive years, we are proud of our team and our longstanding commitment to our customers and our communities. Learn more at www.irvingoil.com.
Media contact:
Katherine d’Entremont
[email protected]
506.654.7162