TELUS celebrates Greater Toronto Area-based charities in 2013 with $5.4 million contribution

Celebration of Giving event helps small-and medium-sized business owners boost their business success through social responsibility

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, TELUS celebrated its charitable community partners at the TELUS Celebration of Giving event in Toronto. TELUS and its team members expect to give more than $5.4 million to Greater Toronto Area-based charities and community organizations in 2013, including $700,000 for youth-focused grassroots charities in the Greater Toronto Area through TELUS' Toronto Community Board.

"Today's event showcases our spirit to 'give where we live' and honour the organizations that help to create stronger and healthier communities in our city," said Sandy McIntosh, vice-chair, TELUS Toronto Community Board. "In particular, our TELUS team members and our Toronto Community Board will continue working with local organizations to support their goal of giving youth substantial opportunities."

In addition, TELUS presented a $210,000 cheque to Rethink Breast Cancer following the completion of the Phones for Good campaign where TELUS donated $25 on behalf of every new Samsung GALAXY S4 customer, across Canada, during the summer. Through TELUS' support, Rethink will continue to bring breast cancer education, awareness and support to women under 40 years old.

"TELUS' long term commitment to the breast cancer cause and our organization has made a significant impact in the lives of Canadians struggling with this disease," said MJ Decoteau, executive director, Rethink Breast Cancer. "With this generous contribution from TELUS we can continue to provide much-needed support and education for young Canadian women diagnosed with breast cancer." 

During the Celebration of Giving TELUS also launched a speaker series to educate its small-and medium-sized business customers on how investing in their community and becoming more socially responsible will help enhance their business success. Guest speakers Marc Kielburger, co-founder and co-CEO of Free the Children and Me to We; Julia Deans, CEO of Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF); and Gonzala Riva, CYBF entrepreneur and COO and Lead Strategist of Twenty One Toys, discussed the importance of giving back when they spoke on how social responsibility has affected their businesses.

"Putting our customers first is at the core of everything we do at TELUS and providing educational events on a variety of topics for our small-and medium-sized business customers to help them succeed is something we are very passionate about," said Hugh Johnson, vice-president of Business Solutions at TELUS. "Our hope is that our business audience walks away with a profound understanding of the positive effect corporate social responsibility can have on their business success and, more importantly, their communities. At TELUS, we've seen tremendous results and we're looking forward to seeing what our business partners achieve."

Since 2000, TELUS and its more than 6,000 employees and retirees living in the GTA will have contributed more than $32 million and, more importantly, volunteered 215,000 hours to local community organizations including The United Way, The Royal Conservatory of Music and The Hospital for Sick Children. In addition, the TELUS Toronto Community Board has contributed $5.2 million to support more than 308 grassroots projects for local organizations including South Asian Autism Awareness Centre, DAREarts and Precious Minds Support Services, since its inception in 2005.

About Rethink Breast Cancer

Rethink Breast Cancer is the first Canadian charity focused on the awareness, support, research and advocacy needs of younger women who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer. By taking a bold approach to all aspects of the disease, the organization is championing change in the younger women's breast cancer movement. Rethink Breast Cancer offers several programs for younger women throughout their breast cancer journey, including the Rethink Connects Peer Support Network, 'Live, Laugh, Learn' monthly get-togethers and award-winning 'Your Man Reminder' app to encourage breast awareness. To participate in Rethink Breast Cancer programs, or to join a new generation of influential breast cancer supporters, visit www.rethinkbreastcancer.com.

About the TELUS Community Boards

TELUS Community Boards are an innovative model for funding youth-focused charities that delegates decision-making to local leaders who know their communities best. Eleven TELUS Community Boards are making a positive impact across Canada from coast-to-coast in Victoria, Vancouver, the Thompson Okanagan region, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Rimouski, Quebec City and Atlantic Canada. Since their inception in 2005, the Community Boards have contributed $38.5 million to grassroots charitable organizations and supported more than 3000 community projects. The TELUS Community Boards and the meaningful difference they make significantly contributed to TELUS receiving the Association of Fundraising Professionals 2010 Freeman Philanthropic Services Award for the Most Outstanding Corporation globally. For more information about the TELUS Community Boards or to apply for funding, please visit telus.com/community.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $11.2 billion of annual revenue and 13.2 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.3 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 743,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation

Emma Miller
TELUS Media Relations
647-464-6817
[email protected]