A Long-standing Partnership:
M&M Meat Shops and Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada

• May 12, 2007 marks the 19th Annual M&M Meat Shops Charity BBQ Day in support of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada’s (CCFC) mission.  This community event raises public awareness and money for crucial medical research for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• Last year, M&M Meat Shops raised $1.8 million for the CCFC’s mission. This year’s fundraising goal is $1.9 million.  Since 1989, M&M Meat Shops Franchisees, Product Consultants, customers and volunteers have raised more than $12.5 million for IBD research through various charitable initiatives.
• M&M Meat Shops Charity BBQ Day is CCFC’s largest fundraising event by a single supporter.  In recognition of this support, M&M Meat Shops is a Platinum Sponsor of CCFC. 
• M&M Meat Shops ongoing support has helped the CCFC establish the Canadian IBD Tissue Bank, the first in North America.  Funds raised have also contributed to the CCFC’s most aggressive research undertaking, the CCFC IBD Research Institute – a virtual institute created to coordinate and expand innovative research initiatives that will change the face of IBD research in Canada.

Facts about IBD and CCFC 

• Approximately 170,000 Canadians are affected by either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and this number is rapidly growing.
• Recent results from a CCFC initiated epidemiological study, “The Burden of IBD in Canada,” led by Dr. Charles Bernstein, University of Manitoba, show that Canada has the highest incidence rate of Crohn’s disease in the world and that the incidence and prevalence of ulcerative colitis are also among the highest.
• There is no known cause or cure for IBD.
• These chronic diseases affect the digestive system and cause the intestines to become inflamed, form ulcers, bleed easily and scar.
• CCFC is the single largest sponsor of IBD research in Canada. To date, it has invested $42 million in major research projects, the CCFC IBD Network and the training of research personnel. 
• CCFC is a not-for-profit voluntary medical research foundation dedicated to finding the cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.  To realize this, CCFC is committed, first and foremost, to raising funds for medical research.

Educating patients, family members, health professionals and the general public about IBD is also a part of the foundation's work.

Facts about M&M Meat Shops and the CCFC

• The partnership between M&M Meat Shops and the CCFC extends beyond Charity BBQ Day.  M&M Meat Shops’ ongoing fundraising initiatives include:
• National Family Dinner Night;
• Raising funds through regional golf tournaments;
• Providing counter space for CCFC coin boxes;
• Sponsoring the Heel 'n' Wheel-a-thon and providing support in the form of BBQ’s in many event locations across the country; 
• Donating proceeds from various charity BBQ’s held at grand openings of new franchise locations;
• Helping organize the SuperGala, one of Canada's largest fundraising events, with proceeds divided between the CCFC and various children's charities;
• In 1995, the CCFC established the M&M Meat Shops Grant in Aid Of Research to honour its major benefactor. This was the first time CCFC named a grant in a donor's name and continues to do so annually.