Social Responsibility

Portland and the Community

We strongly believe that part of our strength comes from the community we are headquartered in, Burlington, Ontario Canada. For over 25 years we have invested in and given back to the region.

Among our philanthropic endeavours and those of our local affiliate companies at Kerns Road, Burlington:

• Food4Kids, has been our local charity of choice since 2017, their mission is to provide healthy food to elementary school students from at risk, low-income or disadvantaged homes with limited or no food during weekend periods. Funds raised goes to support the local Halton and Hamilton Regional schools. To date we have raised $ $9,691 and our employees have been able to go to the Food4Kids warehouse and help fill the food bags that go out to the children.
• The Cure Foundation is a national foundation that provides funding for basic and clinical research for breast cancer. During Cure Foundation’s National Denim Day in support of Breast Cancer, we raised $425 in 2021 and via its annual fundraising we have raised $2,067 to date.
• Food For the Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the US. Their goal is to improve the health, social and spiritual conditions through emergency relief, while promoting self-sufficiency. It feeds millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America and provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned and abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. We raised $15,860 in 2020
• Burlington and Hamilton Foodbanks, 13,000 people per month in Hamilton and 6,000 people per month in Burlington rely on these food programs to make ends meet. We raised $10,368 in 2020
• Halton Women’s Shelter provides emergency shelter, crisis services, and support to physically, sexually, financially, and emotionally abused women and their dependent children. Staff contributed much needed items as well as raising funds from the sale of bath bombs in 2017.
• Partnership West Food Bank - located in Burlington, provides food to families and healthy snacks for school. It is a vital resource for many singles and “working poor” whose income does not cover all their expenses. Over the years from 2013 to 2016 we raised $4,038.20 and collected over 1,000lbs of food.
• Ronald McDonald House is a home away from home for those families with children diagnosed with cancer or other life threatening diseases. In 2015 we selected items from their Holiday Wishlist, such as food for the kitchen, children’s toys and other home necessities.
• The Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) and Scleroderma Society of Ontario – In 2013 we collected approximately 25 boxes of new and gently used books to support our former employees, Jane and Julie Kraemer in their family’s fundraising effort for these two charities.
• The Mustard Seed provides a home for disabled children as well as teenage mothers and their babies in Jamaica. In 2012 We collected 65 bears in a variety of sizes.
• The Canadian Red Cross mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world. In 2006 we supported the Red Cross Tsunami Relief and raised $3863.00 and in 2010 we raised $700 towards supporting victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

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Sustainability

Portland’s approach to living in a sustainable world

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Philanthropy

CEO of Portland Michael Lee-Chin, believes in “prosperitas cum caritate” which means "Doing Well, by Doing Good". Personally and through his businesses, he has pledged/made many large donations.

Amoung his, and his family's, philanthropic endeavours:

• Donated $1 million to Joseph Brant Hospital to support an expansion and renovation project
• Donated $350,000 to Burlington Art Centre to support renovations to enable greater community access
• Donates $5 million to McMaster University which was used to establish the AIC Institute of Strategic Business Studies at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business
• Pledged $30 million to Royal Ontario Museum’s Renaissance ROM Campaign
• Pledged $10 million to the Campaign for the University of Toronto which was used to establish the AIC Institute for Leadership at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management
• Donated almost $4 million to Northern Caribbean University to build a world class nursing school - the Hyacinth Chen School of Nursing in honour of his mother. The state of the art facility accommodates 800 nursing students
• Donated $10M to Joseph Brant Hospital to support the redevelopment and expansion campaign
• The N.C.B. Foundation celebrated the milestone of donating over J$1-billion dollars in ten years to nation building efforts in the areas of: Education, Sports & Community Development and Youth Leadership & Entrepreneurship directly impacting over 160,000 Jamaicans.
• Michael Lee-Chin and family received the 2015 Association of Fundraising Professionals’ (Golden Horseshoe Chapter) National Philanthropy Award in the category of Outstanding Philanthropist

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