Thirty Years of Working Together to Brighten Children’s Mornings  

This year, Breakfast Club of Canada is celebrating 30 years of making a difference in children’s lives. From our humble beginnings in a single school, we have grown into a nationwide movement. We owe much of this progress to the support we have received from a network of long-time corporate donors who share our commitment to building a future where every child has an equal chance to succeed. 

We asked several of our partners to reflect on this milestone and what it means to them. Below are their messages, each of which is imbued with a spirit of kindness, inspiration and generosity. 

“Together, we found a way to have a lasting impact.”
Comité Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton des Ami.es du Club des petits déjeuners 

“For two decades now, we have had the honour of partnering with Breakfast Club of Canada, whose work is the embodiment of our pledge to future generations. Our annual Petit déjeuner de la direction, which brings together people from across our organization, always gets our employees fired up. In 2023, the year our firm turned 75, we raised more than $47,000 for the Club in a single day.  

This community-minded initiative speaks volumes about our commitment to giving back. The goal of everything we do, be it local or national in scope, is to help provide children with what they need to achieve their full potential. We are proud to be part of this movement that turns breakfast into the promise of a bright future.” 

“It really opens your eyes when you realize that a need as basic as food isn’t accessible to everyone… the smile on that little boy’s face, the way my daughter reacted, it was priceless!” Caroline Pilon, Senior Director- Portfolio and Risks management, Commercial Sector, National Bank   

“I first started helping out with the Club a few years ago. Early on, I showed my children how important it is to chip in and lend a hand by going in to serve breakfast in schools. I remember when my daughter gave one of the students two crêpes and whispered to him, ‘You can come back for seconds after everyone in the line has gone through.’ That really got to me.  

Since then, I’ve volunteered with the NB Classic hockey tournament, the 23rd edition of which will be held this year. It brings together employees who love hockey and love helping other people. When you give back, you feel good. We always pull out all the stops for children, and the goal we’ve set this year is pretty ambitious.” 

“Seeing the Club go from helping a few students to over 500,000 is so gratifying.”
Louis Frenette, member of the BCC Board of Directors, President and CEO of Colabor and former President and CEO of Danone Canada 

“I heard about the Club in 1999 from someone I worked with. I was all in right away. A few years later, Danone was donating over a million cups of yogurt every year, and that’s been ongoing from one year to the next. 

As a member of the Club’s Board, I’m proud and grateful to see all the support the management team receives. Together, we have made some big ideas happen, like taking the organization national and making Indigenous communities one of our top priorities. At this point, everything is in place to ensure hundreds of thousands of children have access to breakfast. But we still have to keep reaching out to other partners, donors and government agencies.”  

“The Club is a caring and inclusive community.”
Isabelle Rayle-Doiron, member of the BCC Board of Directors, Senior Vice-President, General Secretary and General Counsel, Danone Canada 

“I started out as a volunteer 12 years ago. Later, when I began working at Danone Canada, a leader in the food industry, it made total sense for me to keep up the fight against food insecurity.  I continue to be inspired by the energy and the generosity of the volunteers who not only serve a nutritious breakfast to students but also provide a warm, welcoming environment where they can get their day off to a good start.  In 2022, I had the privilege of visiting two Indigenous communities in northern Alberta with the Club. It was an experience that has stayed with me. When you see the impact of the program in these remote areas, you understand why it matters so much. The Club is a force for social change. They’re all about action, advocacy and a shared commitment. Thank you for everything you do: you are building a better future for the generations to come.” 

“As long as we have eggs to donate, we’ll be right there for the Club.”
Sylvain Lapierre, Chair, Fédération des producteurs d’œufs du Québec 

“Eggs are a fantastic and affordable source of protein. But there are many families out there who struggle to put healthy food like eggs on the table for their children. Since 2000, through our partnership with the Club, we’ve been doing our part to address these inequalities. In 2024, we provided a total of 330,000 fresh and hard-boiled eggs, representing a value of $50,000.  We are firm believers that every child deserves to start their school day with a full stomach. Congratulations to the Club for all the wonderful things you do.” 

“We’re proud of our decade-long partnership with Breakfast Club of Canada, helping ensure that thousands of children across the country start their day with nutritious eggs.”
Roger Pelissero, Chair, Egg Farmers of Canada 

“Canadian egg farmers are passionate about giving back and remain committed to helping children in our communities get the nutrients and energy they need for their optimal learning.” 

“The Club is creating a close-knit community in schools.”
VitroPlus and UniglassPlus  

“We could tell right away that we had the same values: helping out, being in the community, making a difference. We wanted to see the impact of our support. And we have, every year, when we’ve gone in to serve breakfast at a school. 

We enjoy having the opportunity to feed kids and talk to them. Experiences like these are a reminder that breakfast programs do much more than serve a healthy meal: they create a caring ecosystem that supports academic performance, well-being and a feeling of community.  

A memorable moment for us happened in 2019, in LaSalle, Quebec, when we saw the same kids who were getting a meal volunteering to help out. That was a real eye-opener.  

In the years since we first partnered with the Club, we have raised over $430,000 for the cause. And we’re just getting started. We believe in a future where every school is equipped to serve breakfast to all of its students.” 

A shared optimism for the future

These partners — and so many others like them — have proven that we can do big things when we work together toward a common purpose. Every story, every donation and every smile at the breakfast table gets us closer to our ultimate goal of making sure that no child in Canada starts their day hungry.  

Thank you to all our partners over the past three decades for believing in the power of breakfast and nurturing every child’s potential.