RBC Shows it Cares About Water on Third Annual Blue Water Day

TORONTO, June 8, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, RBC celebrates its third annual RBC Blue Water Day with numerous activities around the world to raise awareness about the value and vulnerability of freshwater. RBC employees from around the world are wearing blue to celebrate the day and encourage clients to show they care about water by visiting the RBC Blue Water Project Facebook page and supporting the cause. A short list of RBC Blue Water Day events include:

CANADA

• Saint John, New Brunswick - RBC is providing a $500,000 grant to WWF Canada for its Living Rivers initiative, focusing on the Saint John River.
  
  
• Montreal, Quebec - Partnering with RBC Blue Water Project grant recipient David Suzuki Foundation, RBC branches across the province are helping to motivate clients and employees to pledge two "Blue" actions, such as eating fish and seafood from sustainable fisheries and using household cleaning products that do not contain toxic substances that can harm the St. Lawrence River and its ecosystem.
  
  
• Kingston, Ontario - Queen's University is receiving a $2 million RBC Blue Water Project grant for the new RBC Queen's University Water Initiative for watershed research, the second largest commitment ever made through the RBC Blue Water Project.
  
  
• Ajax, Ontario - Employees at RBC's new Harwood and Bayly branch are announcing a donation to Friends of the Rouge Watershed in a grand ribbon-cutting event tomorrow.
  
  
• Toronto, Ontario - Chalk artists will create colourful murals about water at four locations — 20 King Street W., Royal Bank Plaza, 155 Wellington Street W. and 320 Front Street W. In addition, RBC employees across the region participated in numerous water activities this week, including planting/seeding at an urban farm, canoeing along the Humber River and learning about water and storm drains through the Yellow Fish Road Event.
  
  
• Hamilton, Ontario - An RBC Blue Water Project grant of $90,000 will be given to the Hamilton Conservation Foundation to help protect, enhance and restore environmentally significant natural areas and watercourses.
  
  
• London, Ontario - RBC will celebrate a $120,000 grant given to the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority to help kick-start a Clean Water Project for individual rural farming and non-farming landowners.

• Regina, Saskatchewan - Employees are joining a local school to host an oil recycling program that helps protect local water sources.
  
  
• Vancouver, British Columbia - RBC is presenting Science World with a $300,000 grant to develop a water sustainability park.

UNITED STATES

• Portsmouth, New Hampshire - A local branch is sponsoring two educational trips for school groups to the Gundalow Company, an organization that protects the Piscataqua region.
  
  
• New York, New York - For a third consecutive year, RBC U.S. Capital Markets employees are volunteering to assist with local water-related charities, removing invasive plant species from the Great Swamp Watershed and working with the Oyster Restoration Project through the New York Harbour School, an RBC Blue Water Project grant recipient.
  
  
• Minneapolis, Minnesota - Teaming up with Great River Greening, almost 100 RBC U.S. Wealth Management employees are helping with a watershed restoration project at Ike's Creek in Bloomington.
  
  
• Dallas, Texas - In addition to sharing water conservation ideas, employees are raising funds for Project Wet - a U.S. non-profit agency dedicated to reaching out to children, parents, educators and communities of the world with water education.
  
  
• Denver, Colorado - RBC Capital Markets and RBC Wealth Management employee volunteers are helping to remove debris and invasive plant species from Heron Pond, a watershed that feeds into the Platte River.
  
  
• San Francisco, California - Employees are wearing blue and raising funds to support the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

CARIBBEAN

• Bahamas, Cayman and Turks & Caicos - RBC is celebrating the $300,000 RBC Blue Water Project grant given to the Bahamas National Trust and The Nature Conservancy to improve Blue Holes National Park and increase conservation awareness.
  
  
• Barbados - Branch staff are encouraging clients to think about their water use habits and conservation and participate in local beach clean-ups across the country.
  
  
• Curacao - RBC volunteers are celebrating their efforts over the past 10 weeks to help construct a deep well, windmill and water reservoir, providing access to clean water for more than 200 people in the western part of the island.

• Dutch Caribbean and Suriname - Branch staff across the region are celebrating RBC Blue Water action grants that support water initiatives in their communities
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• Jamaica - The Jamaica Environment Trust are teaching employees about the impact of marine litter on the community and employees are participating in beach clean-up activities in three key areas of the island, including Montego Bay and Kingston.
  
  
• St. Maarten - Partnering with the St. Maarten Nature Foundation, RBC is supporting the Sea Turtle Watch Group program in its conservation efforts and in keeping the Guana Bay Beach clean.
  
  
• Trinidad & Tobago - Art students are invited into local branches to create a piece of art to reflect why water matters. Each work of art will be on display at the branch until the end of June. In addition, two RBC Blue Water ambassadors and Leo the Lion will tour several branches to raise awareness with employees and clients about freshwater and the RBC Blue Water Project.

INTERNATIONAL

• London, U.K. - Employees are participating in a water photography competition to best illustrate the role trees play in managing water quality and flood management, as part of a research report being conducted by RBC Blue Water Project grant recipient Woodland Trust.
  
  
• Sydney, Australia - Through "Clean Up Australia", more than 50 employees are volunteering to help clean up Hyde Park and raise funds for a local water-related charity.
  
  
• RBC Wealth Management employees from around the world are sharing stories of water issues in their own countries about such efforts as harvesting every drop of rain water and cleaning grey water for drinking.

To celebrate RBC Blue Water Day and show you care about water, go to the RBC Blue Water Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rbcbluewaterproject/app_309036319173800) on June 8 and RBC will donate $50 to one of five water-related charities selected. You can also follow us on Twitter, @RBCGreen. The RBC Blue Water Project is a 10-year, $50 million philanthropic commitment to supporting organizations that protect watersheds and ensure access to clean drinking water in Canada and abroad. Since 2007, RBC has committed more than $33 million in single and multi-year grants to over 500 organizations. For more information on the RBC Blue Water Project, visit rbc.com/bluewater.

Media contact:
Jackie Braden, Brand Communications, [phone], [email protected]