MONTREAL, Nov. 25, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - "One step at a time to raise everyone up" is the theme under which some ten professional athletes and 500 amateur runners participated this noon in the 18th RBC Challenge for Centraide.
This annual relay race up Place Ville Marie involved teams of 10 runners racing up the 1,000 steps of one of Montreal's tallest buildings.
Their efforts were not in vain and the event raised a record $210,000 or $21,500 more than last year. This entire amount will be donated to Centraide Campaign 2015, which runs until the end of December, to support the work of over 350 community agencies that help one in seven people in Greater Montreal.
The elite athletes who joined in the challenge to encourage the participants to surpass themselves are racing cyclist Lex Albrecht, snowboarder Caroline Calvé, freestyle skiers Gabriel Dufresne, Marc-Antoine Gagnon and Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, synchronized swimmer Karine Thomas and ice hockey players Charline Labonté, Caroline Ouellette, Marie-Philip Poulin and Lauriane Rougeau. Sledge hockey player Benoît St-Amand served as the team's coach.
This benefit sporting event is organized by RBC in collaboration with Place Ville Marie.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. It is one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. RBC employs approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 38 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2014, RBC contributed more than $111 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $76 million and $35 million in sponsorships.
About Centraide
Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors that is representative of the community. It serves Laval, Montreal and the South Shore, helping one in seven people through its network of community agencies. Some 57,000 volunteers are involved in the over 350 agencies supported by Centraide, and another 22,000 work on its annual campaign. Centraide is supported by some 1,600 private and public corporations and organizations as well as by large trade unions. For more information or to donate to Centraide, visit www.centraide-mtl.org or text the word "DON" to 80100.
SOURCE Centraide of Greater Montreal
Annick Gagnon, Centraide of Greater Montreal, 514 288-1261, ext. 242, [email protected]; Denis Dubé, RBC Royal Bank, 514 874-6556, [email protected]
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