Community Wildfire Prevention Grants Now Available

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Nov. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company (Wawanesa) has once again partnered with FireSmart™ Canada and the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) to offer Community Wildfire Prevention Grants. These grants are part of Wawanesa’s broader commitment to building climate-resilient communities through the Wawanesa Climate Champions Program, which invests $2 million annually into supporting people on the front lines of climate change.

Wawanesa, FireSmart Canada and ICLR are offering 10 grants of up to $15,000 each to help communities across Canada increase their resilience to wildfire through prevention and mitigation activities.

“Wildfires uprooted so many lives this year, with devastating impacts to homes, businesses, and communities across Canada,” said Jackie De Pape Hornick, Wawanesa’s Director, Corporate Communications and Community Impact. “We’re pleased to partner with the experts at FireSmart Canada and ICLR to support wildfire prevention and help communities reduce the risks of climate-related disasters before they happen. This is one of the ways our Wawanesa Climate Champions program is helping to build a safer, more sustainable future for our members, employees, and communities.”

Last year’s grants were awarded to communities across Canada, including Indigenous communities, rural municipalities, towns, residents’ associations, and local fire departments. The grants went toward a range of wildfire prevention activities, such as rapid deployment sprinkler systems, home preparedness kits, wildfire buffer zones, public education, emergency evacuation planning, and more. For a complete list of recipient communities, as well as project eligibility and application criteria, please visit our Wildfire Prevention website here.

Communities across Canada are now welcome to apply. Grant applications must be received before December 15, 2023 at 12 p.m. CST and will be evaluated by a committee of wildfire prevention subject matter experts from Wawanesa, FireSmart Canada, and ICLR. Grant recipients will be announced on March 1, 2024.

About The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company 
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, founded in 1896, is one of Canada’s largest mutual insurers, with over $4 billion (CAD) in annual revenue and assets of nearly $12 billion (CAD). Wawanesa Mutual, with executive offices in Winnipeg, is the parent company of Wawanesa General, which offers property and casualty insurance in California and Oregon; Wawanesa Life, which provides life insurance products and services throughout Canada; and Western Financial Group, which distributes personal and business insurance across Canada. Wawanesa proudly serves more than 1.6 million members in Canada. Wawanesa actively gives back to organizations that strengthen communities where it operates. Learn more at www.wawanesa.com

About FireSmart™ Canada
FireSmart Canada was founded in 1993 to address common concerns about wildfire in the wildland urban interface. Since then, FireSmart Canada has led the development of resources and programs designed to empower the public and increase neighbourhood resilience to wildfire across Canada. FireSmart Canada operates under a mandate from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, and is supported by federal, provincial and territorial wildland fire management agencies and partners with municipal governments and the private sector. For more information, visit www.firesmartcanada.ca        

About The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR)
Canada’s leading disaster research institute, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), was established by the insurance industry in 1997 as an independent, not-for-profit research and outreach institute to champion disaster resilience in Canada. ICLR is an international centre of excellence affiliated with Western University. The Institute develops and champions evidence-based disaster safety solutions that can be implemented by homeowners, businesses and governments to enhance their disaster resilience. Visit www.iclr.org for more information.

For more information:

Brad HartleManager, Corporate Communications & Media Relations
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
Phone: 1-844-946-6282
media@wawanesa.com

Source: The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company