Centraide launches its 41th campaign - Part of downtown will be closed to traffic on September 29 for Centraide's March of 1,000 Umbrellas

MONTREAL, Sept. 28, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - A limited area of downtown Montreal will be closed to traffic on Tuesday, September 29, for the March of 1,000 Umbrellas, which will officially kick off Centraide of Greater Montreal's 41^th annual campaign.

From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.:

• McGill College Avenue (west side) will be closed to automobile traffic between President Kennedy Avenue and St. Catherine Street West.

From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.:

• St. Catherine Street West will be closed to automobile traffic between McGill College Avenue and Jeanne-Mance Street.

Important: Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., it would be preferable to avoid the entire downtown area bordered McGill College Avenue, De Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Jeanne-Mance Street and René-Lévesque Boulevard.

Centraide's March of 1,000 Umbrellas will bring together some 20,000 people — including representatives from the business world, public sector, trade unions and community agencies, as well as volunteers — to support the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The general public is invited to join them.

The marchers will begin assembling at 11:30 a.m. on McGill College Avenue. The march will begin at 12:15 p.m. and proceed east along St. Catherine Street to the Place des Festivals of the Quartier des spectacles.

Centraide is an umbrella organization that solicits donations from citizens and corporations to financially support over 350 community agencies that, in turn, provide essential support to one person in seven in Greater Montreal.

Campaign 2015 will run until the end of December. People can contribute at centraide-mtl.org, or by texting "don" to 80100.

SOURCE Centraide of Greater Montreal

Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator, Phone: [phone], ext. 242, Cell: 514 566-7077, [email protected]