Describing it as a life-changing commitment by Conexus Credit Union, the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation says families will work with the social workers at the hospital to ease the financial burden of having a child in hospital by offering caregivers assistance to help cope with day-to-day costs.

Neil Cooper, Interim CEO, Conexus Credit Union, says as a financial cooperative they are owned by the community and they serve members all across the province so giving back is important. He says their purpose is to improve the financial well being of their members and very simply that’s removing the stress of money.

To that end, Conexus Credit Union has committed $750,000 to the hospital Foundation to create a Family Amenities Fund which will provide those families with limited resources with support to cope with things like, for example, parking, gift cards for gas or groceries, and meal vouchers. The families will work with social workers at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital to make the application for funding.