Grocery customers round up to Back the Build

Picton Metro celebrates another successful fundraising campaign in support of the Back the Build Campaign. Pictured, from left, are: Danielle Beatty, Assistant Head Cashier; Nancy Parks, Back the Build Campaign Cabinet Chairperson; Murray Lupenette, Store Manager; Briar Boyce, Associate Director, Development for the PECMH Foundation; and Trevor Smith, Assistant Store Manager.

A few cents more at the checkout have once again added up to a boost for local health care.

Customers at Picton Metro donated $6,200 during the 2026 Round Up at the Register campaign in support of the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital (PECMH) Foundation’s Back the Build campaign. With an additional $5,000 from Metro, this year’s campaign raised $11,200 for the new hospital.

This year also marks five years of Round Up at the Register support for Back the Build, a partnership that has demonstrated the tremendous impact that can be made when a local business, its employees and customers rally around their community hospital. Since the initiative began, Picton Metro and its customers have raised more than $85,000 for the hospital.

“Five years of asking customers to round up their purchases has translated into an incredible investment in the future of health care in Prince Edward County,” said Shannon Coull, executive director of the PECMH Foundation. “We are tremendously grateful to Murray, the entire Picton Metro team and the thousands of customers who have said ‘yes’ at the register over the years. Metro has been an exceptional partner to Back the Build, and we are so thankful for their continued commitment to our new hospital.”

The 2026 campaign ran from July 30 to Aug. 12, inviting customers to round up their purchases at the register. The campaign also extended beyond the checkout, with the Picton Firefighters Association hosting a barbecue at the store to help generate additional support and enthusiasm.

For Picton Metro Store Manager Murray Lupenette, the success belongs to the people who embraced the campaign.

“Our team at Picton Metro really gets behind Round Up every year, and I’m incredibly proud of them,” said Lupenette. “But none of this happens without our customers. They are asked at the register if they would like to round up, and time and again they choose to support their hospital. I also want to thank the Picton Firefighters Association for coming out and hosting the barbecue. It really was a community effort, and our team is proud to have played a part.”

“As we work to complete our $30-million Back the Build campaign, partnerships like this remind us just how much our new hospital belongs to this community,” said Nancy Parks, chairperson of the Back the Build Campaign. “For five years, Metro employees and customers have shown up for this project, one generous transaction at a time. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has rounded up, volunteered, barbecued and helped keep the momentum going. This is truly community supporting community.”

The PECMH Foundation’s Back the Build campaign is raising $30 million to help build and equip the new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital with the equipment and technology needed to provide exceptional care for patients and families for generations to come. For more information,or to lend your support, visit www.pecmhf.ca