TORONTO, July 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, the BGC Club in Airdrie, Alberta, which serves over 600 youth from the local community will unveil their newly remodeled goeasy easybites kitchen. The new kitchen will transform the Club’s ability to prepare and serve more than 13,000 nutritional snacks and 1,500 meals annually to those in need and will act as a hub to bring the community together.

goeasy has been a long-standing partner of BGC Canada for almost two decades and has donated over $4 million through a variety of programs to help kids who use the clubs develop the skills they need to succeed. This longstanding partnership led to the launch of the easybites program in 2014, a 10-year and $2.5 million commitment to remodel 100 kitchens across the BGC network of clubs nationwide. The kitchens allow club staff to prepare healthy meals for the youth, in addition to teaching them healthy eating habits and in many cases, inspiring a life-long passion for cooking. The success of this program would not be possible without the generous support of goeasy employees and partners like Whirlpool who have supported the program over the years by donating new appliances to help complete the kitchens.

“This program has been a testament to the tremendous impact that goeasy has made in the lives of youth across Canada and underscores how important these kinds of partnership are for BGC to serve our communities,” said Owen Charters, President & CEO of BGC Canada. “Providing safe spaces for youth to develop essential life skills, gain confidence, and foster a sense of community makes all the difference in determining outcomes for young people. Together, we can empower the next generation and create a brighter future.”

“I am thrilled to see our 100^th kitchen brought to life as we successfully complete our 10-year commitment to remodel the kitchens of the BGC Canada clubs across the country. Like BGC, we are deeply connected to the diverse communities we serve through our extensive retail network of over 400 locations across Canada and we are extremely proud of the transformational impact this program has had,” said Jason Mullins, President & CEO, goeasy Ltd. “In 2014, we made an ambitious charitable commitment to remodel 100 club kitchens across Canada. Our focus has always been on the children, nurturing healthy minds, fostering positive eating habits, and emphasizing the significance of sharing meals around a table. We believe in the power of this partnership to empower and create brighter futures for kids across Canada and are extremely proud of what we have been able to achieve together.”

Our commitment to food security and healthy eating does not end here. Looking ahead, BGC Canada and goeasy Ltd. are looking forward to continuing their partnership in new and meaningful ways. With a continued focus on improving the lives of the youth and children in their communities. Together, goeasy and BGC Canada are launching a new program – Feed Their Future—which will provide 350,000 meals to youth who attend clubs over the next three years.

About BGC Canada

For 120+ years, BGC Canada has been creating opportunities for millions of Canadian kids and teens. As Canada’s largest child and youth serving charitable and community services organization, our Clubs open their doors to young people of all ages and their families at 635 locations nationwide. During out-of-school hours in small and large cities, and rural and Indigenous communities, our trained staff and volunteers provide programs and services that help young people realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, job readiness, mental wellness, social development, leadership, and more. Opportunity changes everything. Learn more at bgccan.com and follow us on social media @BGCCAN.

About goeasy

goeasy Ltd. is a Canadian company, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, that provides non-prime leasing and lending services through its easyhome, easyfinancial and LendCare brands. Supported by approximately 2,400 employees, the Company offers a wide variety of financial products and services including unsecured and secured instalment loans, merchant financing through a variety of verticals and lease-to-own merchandise. Customers can transact seamlessly through an omnichannel model that includes online and mobile platforms, over 400 locations across Canada, and point-of-sale financing offered in the retail, powersports, automotive, home improvement and healthcare verticals, through over 7,500 merchant partners across Canada. Throughout the Company’s history, it has acquired and organically served over 1.3 million Canadians and originated over $10.7 billion in loans.

Accredited by the Better Business Bureau, goeasy is the proud recipient of several awards in recognition of its exceptional culture and continued business growth including Waterstone Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures, ranking on the 2022 Report on Business Women Lead Here executive gender diversity benchmark, placing on the Report on Business ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies, ranking on the TSX30, Greater Toronto Top Employers Award and has been certified as a Great Place to Work®. The Company is represented by a diverse group of team members from 78 nationalities who believe strongly in giving back to communities in which it operates. To date, goeasy has raised and donated over $4.8 million to support its long-standing partnerships with BGC Canada, Habitat for Humanity and many other local charities.

goeasy Ltd.’s. common shares are listed on the TSX under the trading symbol “GSY”. goeasy is rated BB- with a stable trend from S&P and Ba3 with a stable trend from Moody’s.

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Media Contacts

BGC Canada
Rachael MacKenzie-Neill
VP, Development & Public Affairs
(416) 605-1414

goeasy
Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick
Vice President, Communications & Public Relations
MFrick@goeasy.com
(647) 796-1243

Jake Kislinksy
Account Director, Media Profile
jake.kislinsky@mediaprofile.com
(416) 342-1808

Kid Food Nation winners at our 2021 virtual gala with YTV hosts Spencer & Tyra and Chef Marysol Foucault

TORONTO, ON [October 30, 2021] – Created through the partnership of President’s Choice Children’s Charity, Corus Entertainment, and BGC Canada (formerly Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada), the fifth annual Kid Food Nation national recipe contest asked young chefs aged 7 – 13 to submit original, healthy recipes that highlighted their culture or their Canadian pride.

Along with a prize pack that included a tablet, culinary tools, and a custom Kid Food Nation chef jacket and apron, our winners enjoyed a virtual cooking class hosted by Chef Marysol Foucault and YTV hosts Spencer Litzinger and Tyra Sweet. And as an added bonus this year, each winner will receive a $5,000 grant from President’s Choice Children’s Charity for an in-class food growing system, plus tools and supplies for the winners and their classmates to cultivate their own kitchen gardens at home.

All the delicious winning recipes, including Smoked Meat Bannock Pizza, Greek Bean Burgers with Dill Yogurt Sauce, Stuffed Jalapeños, and Double Potato Pie, as well as a recipe and foreword from Chef Foucault, are featured in the Kid Food Nation Cookbook, Volume 5, available for purchase from the publisher Les Éditions Cardinal.

The national recipe contest is designed to bring awareness to the Kid Food Nation program that runs at BGC Clubs across the country. Generously supported by President’s Choice Children’s Charity, the eight-week Kid Food Nation curriculum has four main goals:

• Teach children ages 7-12 essential culinary skills
• Encourage healthy choices about the food they eat
• Empower parents and families to plan, prepare, and cook healthy meals and snacks
• Foster healthy habits for life

To date, the program has run at 94 BGC Club locations across the country, and it’s working—over 2,500 kids have taken part in the program and 3 out of 4 participants say they tried a new recipe at home.

President’s Choice Children’s Charity is BGC Canada’s most significant nutrition partner. Along with Kid Food Nation, they support Basic Needs Brighter Future, Project Backpack, and Summertime Eat Well—together, the four programs ensure that all 200,000 BGC members eat well and thrive all year round.

Kid Food Nation also consists of a free, public website created by Corus Entertainment, which includes games, videos, tips about healthy eating, fun cooking facts, recipes, and more—see all the action at kidfoodnation.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Jared Morrow
Media Relations Manager, BGC Canada
905-477-7272 x2202
jmorrow@bgccan.com

We are excited to share our latest video, featuring the Basic Needs, Brighter Future program, sponsored by PC Children’s Charity.

Basic Needs, Brighter Future has two main objectives: feed more young people at BGC, and promote the importance of nutritional food. Our Clubs have served over 340,000 meals and snacks this year alone, and 1 in 5 of our Clubs report that this funding makes up 100% of their annual food budget.

Thanks, PC Children’s Charity!