community

We recently teamed up with No Frills in Sarnia to support the St. Vincent De Paul Christmas Hamper program! This program provides 1600+ hampers of food, toys and other necessities to local families in need during the holiday season. Centerpoint Pharmacy went in and purchased a long grocery list requested by the Food Bank, and with the help of No Frills, we were able to find products at competitive pricing to stretch our dollar further.  This resulted in  more food for those in need!  No Frills also pitched in a $100 worth of extra groceries for the hampers!  Local businesses helping local charities is something we are very passionate about! Please consider donating food, clothing, toiletries etc. to Sarnia's St. Vincent De Paul (519-337-1058), as they are in need all year round, not just the holidays.

Our pharmacy teamed up again with Cooperators Insurance to raise money, and most importantly, awareness for 2 amazing causes: Cystic Fibrosis and Canadian Blood Services. We also had an appearance from The Good Doctors Walk-In Clinic mascot to entertain the kids and we raised over $1000! Even more important than the money, many people were blood typed that day and signed up for blood donation. We also answered many questions regarding Cystic Fibrosis and brought awareness to this devastating disease. We left the event satisfied that we had signed up many life-saving blood donors and got some necessary funding for Cystic Fibrosis!

In 2014, our very own pharmacy owner, Lamar Hanna, was afflicted with a rare illness called Evans Syndrome. He required blood transfusions to live – after 4 days in ICU and 23 days total in Victoria hospital, it was 10 blood transfusions that ultimately saved his life. He is now as healthy as ever and cannot be more grateful for the donors who are responsible. This is why Centrepoint Pharmacy, in cooperation with Cooperators Insurance, decided to hold their annual BBQ in honor of Canadian Blood Services. Over $1000 was raised, and over 80 people were blood typed that day. We signed up several people to donate, who have now gone on to be regular blood donors saving lives continuously. We cannot thank everyone enough who came out to support this amazing cause. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a donor and saving lives, please visit: www.blood.ca

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder associated with Streptococci Infections. This is a very rare disease that afflicts children and is in desperate need of attention and research. Some local moms who had children affected by PANDAS approached us to help get awareness out after they heard that our very own, Lamar Hanna, had a passion for rare diseases when he battled his own in 2014. So we said we will do whatever we can, and set up a fundraiser BBQ for this important cause. Many people were unaware of what PANDAS was – but after this BBQ, many walked away with a new awareness and care for the issue. For more information on PANDAS and how you can help, please visit: http://pandascanada.wixsite.com/pandascanada

In 2014, Pharmacist owner Lamar Hanna, was air lifted to Victoria Hospital due to a very rare autoimmune disease called Evans Syndrome. This is basically a rare disorder that causes your immune system to identify your blood as foreign, and go on to kill the cells thinking it is an intruder. This means Lamar was losing blood from the inside by his own body’s actions. He required blood donations to keep him alive long enough for doctors to stop his body from attacking itself. After 10 blood transfusions, 4 days in ICU and 23 days total in the hospital, Lamar’s life was saved. After this ordeal, we knew we had to spread the word on how important it is to donate blood. Lamar is alive and well today (and healthier than ever) thanks to the heroes who took the time to donate! Thus, we began holding blood typing events at our pharmacy where people could find out their blood type and get information on how they could be a donor! We also started a speaking circuit where Lamar's wife, Jessica, went around to different events telling their story and signing up blood donors. Since these speaking events, several new donors have emerged and so many more lives are being saved. Jessica and Lamar will NEVER STOP advocating for blood donors, and they continue to speak about their story to this day. For more information on how you can save lives, visit: www.blood.ca

Centrepoint Pharmacy has some awesome neighbours in their plaza – one of them is Fabien Jagoo’s Cooperators Insurance! When Jessica and Lamar heard that the owner, Fabien Jagoo, had 3 children with Cystic Fibrosis, they jumped at the chance to team up with him and kick off their first annual BBQ with Cystic Fibrosis as the focus! A large BBQ was put on and all proceeds went to a local Sarnian girl who is afflicted with cystic fribrosis and required financial help for her several trips to Toronto for treatment. We raised over $1500 for her and her family, but most importantly, raised awareness on this devastating disease that seems to afflict several young people in the Lambton County area. For more information on this disease and how you can help, please visit: http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca

In 2013 our pharmacy put together a team with one of our own patients who was a recipient of a kidney transplant that saved his life! Our team, Kidney Commandos, raised several thousands of dollars for the Kidney Foundation of Canada! This just shows how we see each and every patient as family, not just a number. We will stand with you and walk with you always!!! For more information on kidney disease and how you can help, please visit: http://www.kidney.ca

The Inn of the Good Shepherd is a local organization that “provides services with dignity for those in need of food and shelter.” They describe themselves as serving “the working poor, the unemployed and the homeless. Thousands come to us each year for a helping hand. It is only through the generosity of the community that we are able to give that helping hand.” Centrepoint Pharmacy decided to help during one of The Inn’s busiest seasons, the Christmas season, by providing bags of necessary pharmacy items to those in need. The bags contained some first aid items, analgesics and even vitamins. Centrepoint sold the bags for “at cost” to customers who wished to donate them to this amazing organization. That same year, Centrepoint also purchased several toys to donate for The Inn’s annual children’s Christmas party! If you want more information on how you can donate to The Inn and help your local brothers and sisters in need, please visit: http://www.theinnsarnia.ca