/R E P E A T -- Media invitation - Centraide's March of 1,000 Umbrellas - 20,000 people are expected. A giant « selfie» will be taken at the start of the march/

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 24, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - On Tuesday, September 29, at 11:30 a.m., the March of 1,000 Umbrellas will kick off Centraide of Greater Montreal's 41^st annual fundraising campaign, the biggest operation of solidarity against poverty and exclusion in all of Quebec.

Some 20,000 people are expected. Donors, volunteers, community workers and people from the business world, public sector, trade unions and media will march together, holding up their umbrellas, to show their support for the people helped by Centraide and its network of over 350 agencies. The umbrella symbolizes the importance of protecting people against the cumulative effects of poverty and their impacts on future generations.

TIMETABLE:

11:30 a.m.	Participants assemble on McGill College Avenue, at the corner of St Catherine Street.
11:45 a.m.	Interviews with Lil-Anna Pereša, President and Executive Director of Centraide of Greater Montreal, as well as the co-chairs of Campaign 2015, Andrew Molson, Chairman of RES PUBLICA Consulting Group, and Eric R. La Flèche, President and Chief Executive Officer of METRO.
12:00 noon	A word of welcome and speeches.
12:10 p.m.	The marchers will pose for a giant "selfie" to launch the 2015 fundraising campaign.
12:15 p.m.	Departure of the march (heading east along St. Catherine Street), to the beat of the strolling drum troupe KUMPA'NIA.
12:45 p.m.	Arrival at the Place des Festivals of the Quartier des spectacles.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:

Two raised platforms will be installed for photographers and camera operators wishing to take overhead shots of the event:

• One at the southwest corner of McGill College Avenue.
• One at the corner of De Bleury Street

SOURCE Centraide of Greater Montreal

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