Bonhomme Carnaval visits the Centre mère-enfant of the CHU de Québec thanks to TELUS

TELUS donates $200,000 to Opération Enfant Soleil on behalf of its customers

QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 1, 2013 /CNW/ - More than 80 young patients at the Centre mère-enfant of the CHU de Québec were treated to a visit by none other than local superstar Bonhomme Carnaval. Replete with fun activities including games, souvenir photo ops and a few surprises, this memorable afternoon was organized for a fourth consecutive year by TELUS, which also announced a major $200,000 donation to Opération Enfant Soleil.

"We were so happy to see these kids smiling and having fun with Bonhomme. Days spent in a hospital can feel very long. We wanted to give the children a boost of energy and courage they need to go through these difficult times," says Jean-François St-Germain, Vice-President, Quebec City Region and Public Markets for TELUS. "The well-being of a community is measured through the health of its young people. That is why TELUS is also enriching this Quebec Winter Carnival activity with a major donation to Opération Enfant Soleil, which unites our customers across Quebec in support of sick children."

TELUS' $200,000 donation to Opération Enfant Soleil is in addition to the $2.5 million the company has donated to the organization since the beginning of their partnership in 1998. This sum was raised in 2012 through the generosity of TELUS' customers and team members, as well as the following initiatives:

• Last spring, in support of Opération Enfant Soleil, TELUS launched a new music album featuring several of the top songs used in its Quebec advertising campaigns.
• From November 8 to 30, 2012, TELUS donated $25 to the charity for every smartphone sold in the province of Quebec.
• As it does every year during the holiday season, TELUS contributed all profits from the sale of its critters in Quebec to Opération Enfant Soleil.
• For Halloween, $1 was donated to Opération Enfant Soleil for each TELUS Internet and TV customer who was a member of the Accès Privilèges rewards program and participated in the vote for TELUS' best reusable bag.
• During moving season, TELUS donated $100 to Opération Enfant Soleil for each move or service bundling request.
• Over $5,000 was raised for the organization through the TELUS Team Member Charitable Giving program. Donations made by team members as part of this program are matched by TELUS.

Join the Carnival festivities with TELUS!
TELUS is proud to partner with the Quebec Winter Carnival for a seventh consecutive year as a major sponsor. This year, the partners are driving the adoption of a brand new Android and iPhone app: the App Carnaval, which provides users with a complete schedule of activities along with a host of practical information on transportation, maps, contact details and much more.

From February 1 to 17, attendees are warmly invited to visit the Zone technologique TELUS and put technology at the heart of their creative spirit through our interactive wall cubes. Our popular Young Sculptors activity will also be returning. Each participant will receive a block of snow to create the sculpture of their choice, which will be included in TELUS' onstage exhibit. A wonderful way to awaken the sculptor within!

About TELUS in Quebec 
A vibrant corporate presence in Quebec for more than 85 years, TELUS currently employs over 5,500 team members in the province. Since 2000, the company has invested nearly $12.3 billion in the Quebec economy and its infrastructure development. A Canadian industry leader, TELUS offers Quebec communities access to state-of-the-art global communication technologies, at home in the workplace and on the go. In support of our philosophy to "give where we live", the company has contributed $35 million since 2005 to support local community organizations in Quebec, such as Opération Enfant Soleil, the Dr. Julien Foundation, Les Oeuvres Jean Lafrance and the Association du cancer de l'Est du Québec.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.8 billion in annual revenue and 13 million customer connections, including 7.6 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million Internet subscribers and over 635,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet Protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to "give where we live", TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to numerous charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. In 2010, TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally by the Association for Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company ever to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Image with caption: "Bonhomme Carnaval visits the Centre mère-enfant of the CHU de Québec thanks to TELUS (CNW Group/TELUS Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130201_C2381_PHOTO_EN_23194.jpg

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jacinthe Beaulieu
TELUS Media Relations
418-318-6102
[email protected]