Cameco Corporation gave a major $1 million donation to Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan this morning which will help fund the Saskatoon facility’s much needed expansion.
The new money gives the facility, which provides a place to stay for families in need whose children are receiving medical treatment in Saskatoon, the ability to expand from 13 to 34 rooms.
Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel says the donation is a natural fit for the uranium mining company.
“You know it’s not for the people of Saskatoon, they have a place to stay, two-thirds of the people that stay at Ronald McDonald House are from northern Saskatchewan,” he says. “And, so that was really the interest for us, you know we have all of our mining operations up in northern Saskatchewan, most of our employees are from northern Saskatchewan, so this was really a good fit for us.”
It is estimated that because of a lack of space, Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan currently has to turn away one in every three families.
About 16,000 Saskatchewan families have used the facility since 1985.
Aside from Saskatoon, Cameco officials also traveled to Prince Albert and Meadow Lake as part of the announcement.