Mercy Ships Canada and Foresight for IT Celebrate 5 Years of Corporate Social Responsibility

The emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increased in importance. A survey by UpCity and Pollfish in Forbes revealed that in 2022 more than half of the North American small and medium-sized business respondents are already working to support a social mission. Moreover, in 2022, entrepreneurs and small business owners across the professional community saw value in embracing social missions as part of their brand’s long-term stability. At Mercy Ships Canada, we wish to honour and acknowledge the support from our vital partner, Foresight for IT, whose commitment to CSR predated the pandemic.

Darryl Anderson, Executive Director of Mercy Ships Canada, stated “Edmonton-based Foresight for IT offers us a full-circle approach to IT from setup, support, security, and scalability which means that they handle everything for us, and our vital services are consistently up and running thanks to their dedicated Service. Their always-on technicians and business IT support plan to take the hassle of technology management off our desks and put it into our experts’ hands.” Anderson went on to say, “With staff and board members across Canada, it is vital for Canadian charities to have such a high level of service since we serve clients overseas and interact with international colleagues daily, and Foresight’s support is vital. Vince Phillip, President and CEO of Foresight and his team have assisted Mercy Ships Canada in our capacity to work remotely at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and to lead the cyber security risk assessment and implementation efforts. ”

Foresight’s relationship with Mercy Ships started over five years ago. Initially, the company assisted Mercy Ships Canada with remote desktop support and has grown since then.

Vince stated, “Our committed team of IT place an extremely high value on customer service. The support of Mercy Ships Canada allows the organization to support their neighbours in Canada and overseas. As an IT firm, we understand the value and risks of being in an interconnected digital world. My team takes absolute pleasure in helping Mercy Ships fulfill their mission of delivering high-quality free surgical services in West Africa by helping keep the necessary Canadian computer system running and up to date”.

Foresight for IT is based in Edmonton and has support partners in all major Canadian cities. In addition, remote IT support is offered anywhere in the world clients happen to be. Recently, through a partner relationship, they were instrumental in helping our colleagues at Mercy Ships New Zealand deal with cyber security web site related issues.

While the Canada Revenue Agency’s rules are clear: official donation receipts can be issued only for gifts of property, not for gifts of services, Darryl remarked, “Foresight for IT has blessed Mercy Ships Canada in many ways. The company’s commitment to CSR includes a combination of commercial practices that recognize that we are a charity to the level of personal care and support that the Foresight team demonstrates for our vision and mission. It makes the company more than a trusted professional services provider.”