Star athletes and corporate employees reach a new summit of generosity - The
13th RBC Challenge for Centraide raises a record $95,000

MONTREAL, Nov. 24 /CNW Telbec/ - The 13th annual RBC Challenge for Centraide, a relay race to the top of Place Ville Marie, raised $95,000, which is $13,000 more than last year. At noon today, some 50 teams of professional athletes and corporate employees raced up the 1,000 steps of this great skyscraper in the heart of Montreal to raise funds for the neediest.

Star athletes including cyclist Charles Dionne, tennis player Stéphanie Dubois, diver Roseline Filion, Paralympic swimmer Benoît Huot, water polo player Sandra Lizé, diver Marie-Ève Marleau, hockey player Caroline Ouellette, freestyle skier Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, hockey player Kim St-Pierre and fencer Sandra Sassine pitted themselves against 500 amateur sprinters. Coaching the team of sports personalities was Paralympic sledge hockey player Benoît St-Amand.

This benefit sporting event was organized by RBC in cooperation with SITQ Immobilier. All the proceeds - derived from participants' registration fees and corporate sponsors - will be donated to Centraide, which is aiming to raise $55.3 million by December 15 in order to support the most vulnerable people in Greater Montreal.

Over the past 13 years, the RBC Challenge has raised $517,000 for Centraide's cause. Thanks to the fundraising activities and generous donations of its employees and to a large corporate gift, this year RBC will contribute over $1 million to help the neediest members of the community.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name RBC. We are Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization, and among the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. We employ approximately 78,000 full- and part-time employees who serve close to 18 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 51 other countries. For more information, please visit www.rbc.com.

About Centraide

Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors which is representative of the community. It serves Laval, the Island of Montreal and communities on the South Shore. Centraide supports 360 agencies and projects that help half a million vulnerable people. It relies on a network of over 73,000 volunteers, 23,000 of whom work on its annual campaign. More than 160,000 people contribute financially to the campaign, which is supported by some 2,100 companies, institutions, and public and parapublic organizations as well as by the majority of the large trade unions.

Persons wishing to make a donation can call Centraide of Greater Montreal at 514 288-1261 or visit the "To make your donation" section of its website at www.centraide-mtl.org.

For further information:

Annick Gagnon, Centraide of Greater Montreal
Tel.:[phone], ext. 242

Raymond Chouinard, RBC
Tel.: [phone]