Healthy families are the inspiration behind the Longo’s Family Charitable Foundation’s leadership gift of $1 million to the future Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital.
With both corporate and philanthropic missions to strengthen and empower healthy families through initiatives that will improve their quality of life and well-being, the Longo family’s choice to support the Exceptional Care Belongs Here campaign makes perfect sense, says Rosanne Longo, Chair of the Longo’s Family Charitable Foundation (LFCF).
“Our mission to invest in health care that is family-centred, in an environment that is innovative and leading edge, aligns completely with Mackenzie Health’s two-site hospital model that will provide state-of-theart care close to home for the residents of York Region.”
The generous investment will be recognized with the naming of one prenatal/postpartum pod, which includes eight rooms and an isolation unit, designed with the patient and family in mind, within the Woman and Child Program at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital when construction is completed in 2020.
“This transformational gift to Mackenzie Health is the largest single pledge our family has made to date. When our founders started Longo’s in 1956, they believed in giving something, even when they had nothing to give,” Rosanne says.
“As our business has grown and we focus on the vision and mission of our Foundation, we are able to give in ways that are most meaningful and impactful to our team members and customers. With eight stores serving York Region, an investment of this size in a hospital that will serve the growing population made sense.For us, it’s simply about doing the right thing and helping families where we can.
“With eight stores serving York Region, an investment of this size in a hospital that will serve the growing population made sense.For us, it’s simply about doing the right thing and helping families where we can.
“For us, it’s simply about doing the right thing and helping families where we can.”
Longo’s has its roots in a small fruit market on Yonge Street in Toronto, opened by brothers Tommy, Joe and Gus in 1956. Today, still family owned, Longo’s employs more than 6,000 team members at 31 full-service grocery stores across the GTA, as well as GroceryGateway.com.
In 1998, the family created the LFCF, which focuses on more purposeful and impactful philanthropy to complement its generous corporate giving strategy and legacy of philanthropic investment created by the three founding brothers.
Important, too, is to inspire others in the community to give what they can.
In the last decade alone, Longo’s and the LFCF have donated more than $13 million to community organizations, local hospitals, children’s camps and charitable event sponsorship.
Additionally, through its corporate giving program, Longo’s gives back to programs and initiatives that support and inspire healthy families, lifelong learning and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
“Family values are essential to community growth and by investing in and maintaining a leadership position of community involvement, we will help ensure that the health and well-being of our communities will be sustained for years to come,” Rosanne says.
Longo’s and Mackenzie Health Foundation have been community partners for more than 10 years.
Longo’s and the LFCF have supported many of the hospital’s fundraising initiatives, including two additional leadership gifts in the areas of neonatal care and the Lifelong Learning Centre.
For nearly 30 years, The Longo family and its employees have shared a tradition of giving back to their community.
Longo’s stores are found in eight locations in York Region, including Markham, Aurora, Richmond Hill and Woodbridge, with its corporate offices based in Vaughan.
With its exceptional $1 million investment in Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, the LFCF is a step closer to realizing its inspirational vision for “a world of strong and healthy families, and one where children and youth have opportunities to reach their full potential”.
— Debora Kelly
