For some 300 Transat employees, community involvement was front and centre recently as they devoted a day of work to three charitable organizations in Montreal and Toronto as part of the volunteering program the company introduced in 2011.

This past fall, Annick Guérard, general manager of Transat Tours Canada (TTC), started the ball rolling by sponsoring an activity to support the Fondation du Dr Julien. The goal was to lend a hand to one of the Foundation’s 16 affiliated centres across Quebec, which benefit more than 2,000 children and their families every year. The team of 30 employees from TTC, Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), Jonview Canada, Air Transat and Transat repainted the centre, cleaned toys, prepared snacks for the children, and more.

In December, some 100 Transat employees answered a call to action from Michel Bellefeuille, Transat’s vice-president and chief information officer, to help Moisson Montréal. Canada’s busiest food bank has a desperate and ongoing need for volunteers to help its clientele of 140,706 individuals and 230 community organizations. Transat team members sorted and packed dried and frozen food in preparation for the organization to distribute 6,300 meals, 12,000 bags of frozen vegetables and 300 loaves of bread.

Meanwhile, Jonview Canada’s teams in Toronto and Montreal, led by the business unit’s vice-president and general manager, Andrew Lind, decided to volunteer this year on behalf of Daily Bread, a Toronto-area food bank, and Pause famille, a family support centre in Montreal. During two days of work, the Jonview teams sorted food and prepared food baskets, cleaned premises, prepared snacks and more. For the past seven years, the incoming tour operator has made a point of giving back to the community, urging employees to take concrete actions in support of fellow citizens, for a different organization each year.

Air Transat, for its part, has diligently supported a host of organizations over the last 10 years or so, many of which are dedicated to the youngest members of society – like the Children’s Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. The initiative will continue in 2015, with more volunteer days planned in support of non-profits such as Sun Youth, Les Petits frères and the Welcome Hall Mission.