$7.9+ Million
total raised
2020
year joined
$4.5+ Million
raised in 2021
127000
teammates supporting the cause


Better mental healthcare for children and youth. Every Canadian family can thank the Sobeys family. In partnership, the Sobey Family, Sobeys Inc., and Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations are working to improve child and youth mental health.
The Sobey Foundation was founded in 1982 by Frank H. Sobey and his three sons; Bill, David and Donald. The Foundation’s giving is rooted in the Sobey family’s continued commitment to improving the lives of individuals through investments in health, education and community.
As a proud Canadian retailer with more than 114 years of experience in the food and retail industry, Sobeys Inc. and their retail banners serve the shopping needs of Canadians through approximately 1,500 stores from coast to coast. Their teammates nourish millions of families and are deeply committed to their communities. Sobeys Inc.’s actions are guided by their commitment to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce that helps build healthy communities, both today and in the future.




Nurturing our Communities
People are at the heart of their company. As a family nurturing families, Sobeys Inc. understands the importance of fueling healthy bodies and minds. Their focus on nutrition education, community food programs and early intervention of child and youth mental health helps to create healthier tomorrows for more kids and families from coast to coast.
Removing barriers for kids and families to access healthy, affordable food
Sobeys Inc. partners with community experts, service providers and support groups that educate and serve neighbours facing food insecurity. Together with their partners, they are creating inclusive spaces in communities from coast to coast.
Community Action Fund
On March 23, 2020, in partnership with the Sobey Foundation and members of the Sobey Family, Sobeys Inc. created the Community Action Fund to help address the immediate emergency needs of local organizations across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fund donated millions of dollars to community programs and efforts chosen by frontline teammates at their 1,500 locations across Canada. Sobeys also worked closely with food banks across the country to help alleviate the strain on their services. The Fund’s efforts are ongoing, as they continue to support frontline organizations that assist our most vulnerable neighbours in the long road to recovery.


``A Family of Support`` Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative
Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations has partnered with Sobeys Inc. and the Sobey Foundation to create “A Family of Support” Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative”, an initiative that builds a Canada-wide circle of care for child and youth mental health.
This ground-breaking partnership addresses the critical need for early interventions in child and youth mental health. “A Family of Support” Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative is funding local mental health programs to support specific provincial needs at 13 Canadian children’s hospitals.
Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations and its 13-member children’s hospital foundations, have reported that one of the greatest challenges affecting the health and well-being of Canadian families from coast to coast is mental health.
Together, we will be an engine for change that will make early intervention possible for more kids and families navigating their personal mental health journey. Through a diverse range of programs across 13 children’s hospitals the initiative will drive for stronger mental health outcomes focused on increased care and training.

Mental illness affects more than 1 million children and youth in Canada.

20 percent of Canadian youth are affected by mental illness, but only 1 in 5 receive the services they need.

There has been a 75% increase in children and youth visits to Emergency Departments for mental health conditions in the last decade.
Making an Impact on Child and Youth Mental Health
While there is ample evidence that investments in prevention and early intervention have the greatest potential to reduce the impacts of mental illness, resources continue to focus on acute care. This means most children and youth struggling with mental health challenges cannot access services until their issues escalate to a crisis.
That’s where A Family of Support Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative comes in. Together, we will raise awareness and funds to ensure brighter mental health outcomes are possible for more kids in Canada.
Each children’s hospital foundation has identified a critical program that will be made possible through the support of the Sobey Foundation, Sobeys Inc., their 127,000 teammates and generous customers. The programs ladder back to two pillars focused on early intervention:
- Care and education
- Training
Within each program, the children’s hospitals and the communities they support will have the ability to increase care and education through assessments, treatment spaces, people trained, and patients served.
It is our goal that programs will result in the following:


Reduce wait times for patients starting or transitioning between services

Implement early intervention programs, thereby reducing the need for crisis-stage treatments, Emergency Department visits and inpatient admissions

Develop new, evidence-based treatments for mental health challenges

Improve patients’ and families’ satisfaction with mental health care in Canada
13 Mental Health Programs Made Possible
Below are the 13 project summaries, one for each CCHF children’s hospital member, that the A Family of Support Child and Youth Mental Health Initiative is supporting. To learn more about the programs and the commitment made by the Sobey Foundation and Sobeys Inc. visit aFamilyofSupport.com

Janeway Children's Hospital Foundation
ADVOCATING FOR THE VULNERABLE
Janeway Children’s Health and Rehabilitation Centre is partnering with other agencies to establish a much-needed Child & Youth Advocacy Centre. The new centre will support children and youth who have been victims of, or witnesses to abuse, violence and other crimes. Customized services delivered in a safe space will help reduce short- and long-term impacts of the abuse and violence children and youth experience.

IWK
Foundation
PARTNERSHIPS TO TRANSFORM CARE
Many youth experiencing mental illness do not have timely access to high quality evidence based mental health and addictions services. The Learning Link–a physical and virtual space for clients, families and clinicians to work together–will help address these challenges. The Learning Link will serve as a hub of expertise for Nova Scotian and Maritime mental health clinicians and community partners to enhance knowledge and deliver the best clinical care.

Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation
MAKING CARE MORE ACCESSIBLE
The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation will invest in improving treatment for two critical mental health issues—obesity and eating disorders. The funding will help build the first Center of Excellence in adolescent severe obesity in Quebec and make treatment more accessible. Funding will also enable an investment in the Children’s unique Family Based Therapy which have proven to be very successful in the treatment of eating disorders.

CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation
CREATING
EXCELLENT CARE
CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation will invest in two mental health initiatives. The first will focus on innovative approaches to safer care for youth with mental health problems—like virtual reality. The second will allow CHU Sainte-Justine to create in-situ meeting rooms, to help supervisors better evaluate and guide training for the next generation of mental health leaders.

CHEO
Foundation
HELPING THOSE
AT HIGH RISK
CHEO will grow their Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) program to help adolescents dealing with suicidal ideation, self-injury, family conflict and school problems stemming from difficulties regulating their emotions. By expanding and enhancing services, CHEO will be able to care for more children and families ensuring fewer patients reach a crisis stage.

SickKids
Foundation
PROVIDING A SUCCESS ROADMAP
More than 40 percent of children and youth with a physical illness face mental health challenges. To identify potential challenges early, patients with high-risk conditions undergo neuropsychological assessments. SickKids will expand access for this important service, ensuring children and youth don’t miss critical windows of opportunity for early mental health intervention.

McMaster Children's Hospital Foundation
REDUCING TEEN SUICIDE TOGETHER
More Canadian youth die by suicide than the top 10 fatal diseases in this population combined. A new innovative 6-week psychotherapy program focused on improving family communication, reducing conflict, and increasing coping skills has been developed. In the coming months, the effectiveness of this intervention program will be tested at McMaster Children’s Hospital through a multi-site clinical trial in conjunction with Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and SickKids Foundation.

Children's Health Foundation
KNOWING
THE SIGNS
Psychosis ranks as the third most disabling condition worldwide. Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre is expanding an early identification and intervention program focused on supporting youth with severe mental health issues. This will facilitate more timely detection and proper treatments, significantly reducing the negative risks of early psychosis.

The Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba
CREATING CARE THAT’S CLOSER TO HOME
Over the last 20 years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of patients presenting to HSC Winnipeg Children’s Hospital for mental health assessment. About 45% of child and adolescent patients are transported from their rural communities for care, resulting in millions spent on medical transport annually. The hospital will implement a new Urgent Telemental Health Service for children and adolescents in rural Manitoba, bringing care closer to home.

Jim Pattison Children's Hospital Foundation
CREATING SAFE ENVIRONMENTS FOR CARE
Often, the first contact children and families have with mental health services is in a hospital emergency department (ED).The new Children’s Emergency Department at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital provides short-stay crisis care for Saskatchewan children and youth experiencing acute mental health challenges. The hospital will create a new Mental Health Intensive Care Room in the Emergency Department to provide a safe, calming environment for children and youth in crisis.

Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation
ENHANCING
URGENT MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICES
Donor investments are vital in expanding round-the-clock mental health support to children, youth and families. Stollery will be able to create integrated mental health services within the emergency department, boost helpline support to be 24/7, along with a separate walk-in clinic space to help to increase timely access to an expert team of nurses, social workers, therapists, and child and adolescent psychiatrists.

Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation
ADVANCING
AND PERSONALIZING
TREATMENTS
Inadequate scientific knowledge about paediatric mental health disorders means that many treatments and prevention strategies have not advanced in decades. A new Foundational Discovery Platform will engage hundreds of young people in innovative research aimed at understanding paediatric mental health and improving and creating more effective therapies. By collecting and analyzing crucial data with a 360-degree view of participants, the initiative will inform and optimize care for children and teens across the country.

BC Children's Hospital Foundation
SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR KIDS THROUGH EDUCATION
BC Children’s Hospital will work to develop and deliver a wide-reaching mental health education strategy to help address gaps in mental health services in British Columbia. This strategy will support the education and training of hospital and community healthcare providers and educators across the province, strengthening capacity and helping to ensure that children and youth receive the timely mental health support they need.
Ready to take action?
About Sobeys Inc
Proudly Canadian, with headquarters in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Sobeys has been serving the food shopping needs of Canadians since 1907. Sobeys Inc. owns, affiliates or franchises more than 1,500 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, Farm Boy and Lawtons Drugs as well as more than 350 retail fuel locations. Sobeys, its franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 127,000 people. More information on Sobeys Inc. can be found at www.sobeyscorporate.com
The Sobey Foundation
The Sobey Foundation was founded in 1982 by Frank H. Sobey and his three sons; Bill, David and Donald. The Foundation’s giving is rooted in the Sobey family’s continued commitment to improving the lives of individuals through investments in health, education and community.