London Drugs' mobile emergency response delivers supplies to BC evacuee centres and all 80 stores across Western Canada accepting donations to Red Cross for BC Wildfire Relief

RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 11, 2017) - Today London Drugs expanded its collection of donations for the Red Cross from British Columbia and Alberta to chain-wide across Western Canada with all 80 London Drugs stores collecting donations to support in the aid of the more than 14,000 people evacuated due to the raging wildfires in British Columbia.

In addition to accepting at-till donations for the Red Cross at all of its stores, London Drugs' store managers in evacuee centres in Kamloops and Prince George have delivered supplies to people in need and the number of people and needs continues to grow. This includes a deployment of supplies today that is being delivered to the people and families of the Ashcroft First Nation, who have been hit hard by the wildfires.

London Drugs corporately has committed to helping evacuees' needs and has initiated on-the-ground support with our incident response team reaching out and responding to local relief agencies requests for the past 96 hours.

"We are a BC-based, family owned and operated company committed to our communities and all British Columbians," said Clint Mahlman, London Drugs' executive vice president and chief operating officer. "Our incident response centre has been monitoring the wildfires closely for the past few days and we will continue to monitor. We have the staff, trucks, supplies and ability to help wildfire evacuees, and this is exactly what we are going to continue to do."

London Drugs has delivered hundreds of community comfort kits to the evacuation centres in Kamloops and Prince George and more supplies are ready to be deployed as needed. Independent charging stations for people's electronic devices are also on route to the Kamloops and Prince George evacuation centres.

For evacuees needing pharmacy support, they are welcome to contact London Drugs' customer care line: 1-844-782-0051. It's important to keep in mind with these conditions for people to stay hydrated, wear a mask when needed and have all medications up to date. For individuals living in areas with poor air quality, you may want to consider staying indoors when possible, use air purifiers and if asthmatic, keep inhalers handy. Consider use of aero chambers with inhalers to ensure maximum inhalation of doses. The London Drugs pharmacy team in Kamloops and Prince George are available to assist remotely where needed and evacuees are welcome to reach out for help. You do not have to be a current patient of London Drugs to access essential health care services and medications. London Drugs pharmacy contact in Kamloops: 1-250-372-3445 London Drugs pharmacy contact in Prince George: 1-250-561-1118.

Products and supplies London Drugs continues to have readily available to assist evacuees includes water and other essentials as well as diapers and feminine hygiene products, and toys and coloring books and items of that nature for children.

"We wish to thank all of the people working tirelessly to directly help everyone impacted by the wildfires," said Mahlman. "We would also like to thank our staff, particularly in Kamloops and Prince George, who have gone above and beyond to help support the evacuees and the evacuee centres in our local communities. Not only have our staff in these centres been compiling care packages for hundreds of evacuees but the pharmacy team is also going beyond their normal duties and is ready to help people with any respiratory issues and other concerns. At London Drugs, our on the ground support teams are ready to assist wherever needed."