• Collective Social Responsibility 9

    Collective Social Responsibility

Collective Social Responsibility

A commitment to community is integral to our culture and operations. Some call it Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). At McInnes Cooper, we call it Collective Social Responsibility because, for us, it’s about embracing our shared ability respond to social and environmental issues. It’s about uniting with passion to make our world kinder, stronger, healthier, and more vibrant.

Built on five pillars – community impact, environmental stewardship, pro bono legal services, wellness promotion, and inclusion, diversity, equity & accessibility (IDEA) – our CSR program engages our members in shared effort to empower communities and conserve the environment. Annually, through our CSR program, McInnes Cooper supports hundreds of projects, facilitates thousands of volunteer hours, and serves dozens of pro bono clients.

CSR at McInnes Cooper includes:

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Mental Health

By the time people reach the age of 40, half of them will have – or have had – a mental illness. Directly or indirectly, we are all affected. With such prevalence, we know we must do all that we can to mitigate psychological risks, challenge stigma, and support mental health & addiction services in our workplace and in our communities. Through partnership with expert organizations, we foster positive discourse and actively work toward collective wellbeing.

Poverty Relief

We believe that a community is only as strong as its most vulnerable weakness, and for many communities, that weakness is poverty. At McInnes Cooper, we engage with local organizations that impactfully address food insecurity, homelessness, literacy rates, and equitable access to education. To support these efforts, we empower our members to take part in donation drives, fundraising campaigns, and volunteer service. Some of our community partners in the area of poverty relief include:

Health & Wellness

As a firm, we feel deeply rooted in the communities in which we live and that we serve, and we genuinely wish for the absolute health and of all our neighbours, clients, and community partners. For communities to thrive, all individuals should have ability to embrace physical, mental, spiritual, culture and social wellbeing. There are many exceptional organizations in our region that provide innovative health services and holistic, community-based care. We are proud to work with many, including:

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Youth Empowerment

Our youth hold so much creative ability, capacity for compassion, and leadership potential. They inspire us to partner with organizations that help young people discover their passions, find their voices, and feel empowered to take actions that affect change. Some of our youth-focused partnerships include:

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Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA)

McInnes Cooper acknowledges inequity exists in many forms both within our profession and in society. We work hard to reflect critically, educate broadly and adopt measures that mitigate bias and foster a culture of belonging for our members. Read more about our IDEA Program here.

Through community engagement, we also support organizations the serve underrepresented communities, such as:

 

  • "We love working with McInnes Cooper because supporting community is such a big part of the firm's culture. They are always looking for meaningful ways to contribute and we appreciate their support so much."
    Anne-Marie McElrone, Director of Partnerships, The North Grove
  • ”The exceptional support that we receive from our friends at McInnes Cooper allows us to enable life-changing mentoring relationships to ignite the power and potential of young people. Through donations of time, effort and financial support, they make outstanding contributions in our community. The commitment and dedication that comes from the McInnes Cooper team is instrumental in helping young people succeed. We value their relationship and belief in mentoring to help change lives”.
    Kelly Leach, Executive Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern NL
  • “Every patient and family of the IWK Health Centre has unique needs and challenges that impact their overall wellbeing. When a family is dealing with a legal issue, it can affect the patient’s and family’s ability to engage in treatment, impede recovery and disrupt overall health. Having access to skilled and committed lawyers who are on their side makes a measurable difference. Knowing how legal issues intersect with the social determinants of health, we were pleased when McInnes Cooper reached out to us in 2014 to express interest in collaborating with the IWK to create a medical-legal partnership. Since launching the program in partnership with the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, we’ve been encouraged and grateful for the dedicated effort of MC lawyers to help families in need.”
    Jen Feron, General Counsel, IWK Health Centre
  • “McInnes Copper has been a trusted partner of ISANS for over 7 years. The McInnes Cooper Pro Bono Legal Service provides access to business legal advice for those immigrant entrepreneurs who cannot afford the full cost of legal service. ISANS' business clients have benefited immensely from  McInnes Cooper’s dedicated and knowledgeable staff, working side by side with them helping them navigate through business legal matters. We are  grateful for the partnership!”
    Christine Alvarez, Business & Workforce Integration Supervisor, Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia