The Allan Reynolds Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes a special individual for their extraordinary contribution and leadership, and is decided by the Reynolds family, with the help of Food Allergy Canada’s Board of Directors.
This year, our winner is Sylvio Deluca, CEO of Media City, who has graciously donated ad space to help amplify our message by reaching millions of people across Canada. We commend his commitment to raising food allergy awareness and his ongoing contributions to our organization.
Learn more about Sylvio and his dedication to raising awareness and giving back in our interview below.
Meet Sylvio Deluca
Congratulations Sylvio on the well-deserved award! Can you tell us a little about yourself and describe your contributions to the food allergy community?
I’m the CEO of Media City which offers ad spaces in Outdoor Digital, Office Tower and Shopping Centre environments across Canada. We’re a fiercely independent media company, providing non-traditional media spaces, and we believe in doing things differently. On a personal level, I’m married and have 3 children – my family is the most treasured thing in my life.
We’ve been working with Food Allergy Canada for a few years by donating ad space to get the organization’s message out across the country. Our contributions have included significant donations on our Outdoor Digital ad spaces, adapting Food Allergy Canada’s creative message to various board sizes, making introductions for Food Allergy Canada’s marketing team to other media partners and connecting Food Allergy Canada leadership with others in the not-for-profit sector.
Outdoor digital ads for Food Allergy Canada’s 2019 Halloween campaign
What drives your passion and commitment for raising food allergy awareness and giving back to our charity? Are you personally impacted by food allergy?
My son has food allergy to peanut and all tree nuts. Like others facing a similar type of severe allergy, we understand the challenges of food labelling, potential cross-contamination, school policies (which have dramatically improved), restaurant and travel destination selections and even simple things like Halloween. My son has also experienced an anaphylactic reaction and hospitalization while on vacation. The information and expertise that Food Allergy Canada offers had helped us immensely in dealing with new questions and situations.
Outdoor digital ads for Food Allergy Canada’s 2019 Food Allergy Awareness Month campaign
What motivates you to not only help our organization, but to go above and beyond in getting other organizations to support us and volunteer their resources as well?
A few years ago, while growing our media company, I reflected on what else we could do to give back, make a difference, use our company’s platform and resources to amplify messages of causes that were close to me or my staff. One comes to realize, through time, that life is finite and when we have an opportunity to make a difference, we should seize the moment and be the change.
Outdoor digital ads for Food Allergy Canada’s 2018 Halloween campaign
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We absolutely love working with Jennifer, Ranjit and the Food Allergy Canada team. We will continue to support them so they can promote the excellent work they’re doing to improve the lives of people living with food allergy.
Outdoor digital ads for Food Allergy Canada’s 2018 Food Allergy Awareness Month campaign