'There is a real need': Canadian organization supports military members, their families and veterans

At the height of the Afghanistan War, Blake Goldring founded Canada Company with a goal of increasing awareness and knowledge of the impact and value of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

The organization acts as a bridge between military communities and the Canadian public, serving military members, their families, and veterans through many programs and education initiatives.

“A lot of people were asking, ‘What can we do to assist and help?’ And very quickly I thought, well I’ve got a group of really prominent and different people from across Canada to get together, to really figure out how we can assist our military members and their families,” said Goldring.

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“We quickly came up with a scholarship fund for the children of our fallen, we got funded camps for the children of our deployed members. We also had War Exclusion Clause that mortgages if someone was killed overseas, their house insurance wouldn’t kick in. Well, we managed to go and get that changed as well.”

Over the past 17 years, Canada Company has awarded 287 scholarships. In all, the organization says $1.1 million has been given to students.

Canada Company has also donated over $50,000 to help children of fallen soldiers access special support services and contributes to programs such as Project Hero.

Canada Company is now opening a chapter in Halifax. Goldring says it is an appropriate location due to the strong military presence in the city, as well as the community support.

“We’ve got branches now right across the country, Vancouver and Halifax now, as well as Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto,” he said. “And we’re going to go right across the country because there is a real need to show that those who support us, they deserve our support as well.”

Canada Company does three major things:

• awareness: helping the Canadian public understand the contribution of CAF members
• education: providing educational resources, opportunities and financial assistance
• wellbeing: providing CAF members and their families with support programs that help them live productive, happy, healthy lives

Canada Company’s motto is “many ways to serve” – a term that explains the organization’s main purpose.

“Each of us can bring ways to help either through money or support… but the expertise that we can offer and at the same time, we learn from the leadership and example that we get from our military,” said Goldring. “So, it’s a bridge.”