TD and Wellspring Launch New Virtual Centre for Cancer Support

TD Bank Group (TD) has committed $600,000 over three years, as well as the expertise of its Digital and Research teams, to the Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation to create the “Virtual Centre for Cancer Support brought to you by TD” platform. The platform is designed to help upwards of 10,000 individuals and families dealing with cancer each year.

Rizwan Khalfan, Chief Digital and Payments Officer, TD Bank Group, announces the launch of new Virtual Centre for Cancer Support with Wellspring. (CNW Group/TD Bank Group)

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wellspring, a Canadian non-profit offering support programs and services, at no charge, to people with cancer and their families, had to move their in-person programs online. In doing so, their demand increased, and Wellspring was able to reach new clients who couldn’t access the programs before due to barriers such as severe illness, disability, family commitments and remote locations.

TD, a 30-year sponsor of Wellspring, saw an opportunity to offer its expertise from within the Bank’s Digital and Research teams to help Wellspring through its digital transformation to better meet the evolving needs of its community. TD colleagues volunteered their skills in digital customer experience and design to help Wellspring create plans for their expanded virtual platform. Now, with the $600,000 donation by TD through the TD Ready Commitment, these monies will help to make this plan a reality by building a virtual platform focused on helping Wellspring achieve Canada-wide delivery of its virtual cancer-assistance program.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen the power of TD’s digital capabilities to support our customers where, when and how they choose to do their banking, and our teams knew they could use their skills to help make a difference for Wellspring,” said Rizwan Khalfan, Chief Digital and Payments Officer, TD Bank Group. “The new Virtual Centre platform, built using best-in-class digital design practices, will help build a foundation on which Wellspring can provide virtual support to individuals and their families dealing with cancer.”

The Virtual Centre will house Wellspring’s online programming – including webinars, self-paced videos and web-based resources – and will be able to support these programs as they grow and evolve.

“With TD’s investment, we are so excited to offer cancer support resources digitally to even more Canadians,” said Christina Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation. “With the Virtual Centre for Cancer Support, which will launch sometime next year, Wellspring will be able to significantly increase the number of people we can help annually and continue to grow the impact through expanded opportunities to support our fundraising and marketing efforts.”

Support for the Virtual Centre and Wellspring is in keeping with the goals of the TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s corporate citizenship platform designed to help enrich the lives of TD customers, colleagues and communities. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (U.S. $775 million) in total by 2030 towards community giving in four areas critical to help open doors for a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow – Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.

“The aim of our Better Health driver is to target our support for innovative research, solutions and technology that are working to create more equitable health outcomes for all. While advances in healthcare are helping people live healthier lives, many continue to suffer from chronic conditions and experience barriers to quality healthcare,” says Janice Farrell Jones, Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank Group. “We’re proud to support Wellspring, through the TD Ready Commitment, which is working towards providing more equitable access to cancer care for Canadians.”

source: TD Bank