September 21, 2009/- University Hospitals Kingston Foundation and Shoppers Drug Mart® are partnering in an effort to raise funds to help improve the quality of life for women and their families in Kingston through the Tree of Life campaign. Now in its eighth year, the three-week fundraising campaign, running from September 26th through October 16th at over 1,150 Shoppers Drug Mart stores, will harvest much needed funds to support the Women’s Health Program and services. 

“Donations from Shoppers Drug Mart customers will help us complete the new Brachytherapy unit planned for the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario at Kingston General Hospital,” said Denise Cumming, Executive Director, University Hospitals Kingston Foundation.  “This unit provides an alternative treatment to standard external-beam radiation for breast cancer and it’s an important treatment option to have available locally.”

You can help cultivate the harvest by visiting any local participating Shoppers Drug Mart store and purchasing a “leaf” for a loonie, a “maple leaf” for $5 or an “apple” for $50.  Each time you contribute, you can personalize a “leaf” to be placed on a branch of the Tree of Life which will be prominently displayed in the store. Online contributions can be made by visiting www.shoppersdrugmart.ca.

The Shoppers Drug Mart Tree of Life fundraising campaign is a three-week program held across Canada each autumn. Customers, staff and Pharmacist-Owners at over 1,150 Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix stores together raise funds for a local women’s health initiative through the purchase of the Tree of Life paper icons.  Since 2002, the Tree of Life campaign has raised $11 million for Canadian health charities. This year alone, over 300 women’s health charities across Canada will benefit from the proceeds.