HALIFAX -- National Nursing Week is a time to celebrate the men and women in the health-care profession.
According to the Canadian Nurses Association, National Nursing Week occurs each May to coincide with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
This year, the World Health Organization has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, in honour of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
Molson Coors Beverage Company in Canada is marking the week by providing 20,000 front-line health-care workers with a meal of their choosing from SkipTheDishes, as a way to say thank you for their work in fighting COVID-19.
With the help of hospitals in communities where they brew – including The Moncton Hospital in Moncton, N.B., and Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, N.L., – Molson Coors will distribute gift card codes for SkipTheDishes.
“Our founder John Molson built the first public hospital in Montreal out of the desire to help those in need and make his community a better place," said Fred Landtmeters, the president of Molson Coors Canada, in a written statement.
"Canadian healthcare workers are selflessly caring for those in need to create a better tomorrow for all of us. While we can't help these heroes on the frontline, we can certainly thank them with the gesture of a meal."
The public is invited to contribute to the cause by donating to a GoFundMe page. Every $25 raised will provide a meal to a front-line health-care worker.
SkipTheDishes has already raised the meal count by 2,800, donating $70,000 to existing efforts.
"We're proud to support Molson Coors on a program that not only thanks healthcare workers who are working tirelessly to fight COVID-19, but also helps our restaurant partners facing unprecedented hardships," said Rob Payne, the vice-president of national partnerships at SkipTheDishes, in a written statement.
Donations will be accepted until May 31, after which meal codes will be distributed proportionally to the hospitals.
