Giant Tiger Brings Christmas to Troops Overseas with Operation Santa Claus

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 30, 2015) - This holiday season, as a proud partner of Operation Santa Claus, Giant Tiger and Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS) will be sending a little piece of home to Canadian troops serving overseas. Operation Santa Claus' mission is to ensure that every Canadian Forces member serving abroad during the holiday period receives a gift, and Giant Tiger is honoured to help achieve this goal.

This year's gift boxes are filled with items purchased by and from Giant Tiger at wholesale cost with funds collected through the sales of special "thank you" icons sold at Giant Tiger stores across the country in July and on Parliament Hill on Canada Day. Each icon contains a personalized message from the purchaser and will be included with the packages.

"Operation Santa Claus touches the lives of so many Canadians at a very special time of year, and as a proud Canadian company it is an honour and a privilege to be a part of such an important initiative," said Thomas Haig, President and COO, Giant Tiger. "Our involvement would not have been possible without the help of the Giant Tiger family, which includes our Home Office staff, local Store Owners and, of course our valued customers. It is thanks to their patronage that we are able to send a message of gratitude to our Canadian troops for their sacrifice. We wish all of our troops overseas a very Merry Christmas and thank them for their service to our country."

"As the 2015 holiday season draws near, I would like to thank our sponsors and donors for their support and extend my best wishes to all the soldiers, sailors, air personnel who are away from home during this season," said Commodore Mark Watson, Director General Morale Welfare Services. "The packages that our troops will receive as part of the Operation Santa Claus program demonstrate how Canadians, now more than ever, are voicing and demonstrating their encouragement and pride in the work that our troops are doing on their behalf."

On, Friday, October 30, volunteers from Giant Tiger and CFMWS will be packing and shipping 1,700 care packages for Canadian Forces members serving in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Egypt among others. Joining the volunteers are key leaders from both Giant Tiger and the Canadian Forces including Thomas Haig President and COO, Giant Tiger; Julia Knox, Senior Vice President Strategy and Customer Experience, Giant Tiger; Colonel Sébastien Bouchard; Chief Warrant Officer Tremblay; Mike Ward, Associate Director General, Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services and Jo-Anne MacDonald, Director, Strategic Operations and Initiatives.

About Operation Santa Claus

Operation Santa Claus began in 1991 when a group of military spouses sent Christmas packages to their partners who were serving on Peacekeeping peacekeeping duties. The packages consisted of cards and greetings from family and friends across Canada. Since the program's inception, over 50,000 packages have been dispatched worldwide.

About Giant Tiger

Giant Tiger is the leading Canadian owned family discount store, committed to providing on trend family fashions, groceries, and everyday needs. Established in 1961 in Ottawa's Byward Market, the privately held company has over 200 locations across Canada and employs over 7,000 team members. All Giant Tiger locations are locally owned or operated by a team member who knows the community. In 2001, the North West Company entered into a franchise agreement with Giant Tiger Stores Limited to open and operate Giant Tiger stores in Western Canada. The friendly local stores with the iconic yellow logo are not only where Canadians shop more and spend less, but they also help bring communities together.

For more information on Giant Tiger, please visit www.gianttiger.com

About Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services

Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS) is responsible for administering Non-Public Property on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Staff and for delivering selected public morale and welfare programs, services, and activities to eligible members and their families on behalf of the Chief of Military Personnel.

With over 5,000 staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces employees on bases, wings, units, and at headquarters in Ottawa, CFMWS operates with a fundamental principle in mind: the customer comes first. In partnership with bases, wings and units, we ensure that our customers, the CAF Regular and Reserve Force members, retired and former CAF members, military families, Department of National Defence employees, NPF employees and RCMP personnel, receive the morale and welfare programs, services and activities they deserve.

For more information on Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services, please visit https://www.cfmws.com/