TELUS gives more than $5.5 million to Greater Toronto Area-based charities and community organizations in 2012

Celebration of Giving event helps small-and-medium business owners strengthen their business through social responsibility

TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, Greater Toronto Area charities, community partners and small businesses were celebrated at the TELUS Celebration of Giving at TELUS House Toronto. TELUS and its team members expect to give more than $5.5 million to GTA-based charities and community organizations in 2012, including $700,000 in funding for grassroots, youth-focused charities in the Greater Toronto Area through TELUS' Toronto Community Board.

"Today's Celebration honours the resilience of Greater Toronto Area grassroots organizations and the continuous efforts they put forward to create healthier communities," said Frances Lankin, TELUS Toronto Community Board Chair. "TELUS' philosophy to give where we live coupled with the ongoing commitment of the TELUS Toronto Community Board will continue to support GTA organizations who work tirelessly to help empower a new generation of opportunity for youth."

As part of this year's Celebration of Giving, TELUS provided tips and tricks for small- and medium-sized business owners on how investing in their community and becoming socially responsible helps to strengthen business success. Guest speakers Marc Kielburger, co-founder and co-CEO of Free the Children and Me to We and Tal Dehtiar, president and founder of Oliberté Footwear confirmed the importance when they spoke to how social responsibility has affected their businesses. Following the event, TELUS also offered free workshops for charities on how volunteer organizations can ensure youth are protected from predators.

"Our small- and medium-sized business audience walked away today with a meaningful understanding of the impact corporate social responsibility and community investment has on both businesses' success and creating bright futures for communities," said Jim Senko, vice-president of Small and Medium Business Marketing at TELUS. "At TELUS, we have a philosophy - we give where we live. That philosophy is key to our investment in the community and to our own efforts in achieving best-in-class corporate social responsibility. The outcome of these efforts to our business is extraordinary and we are excited to see the same results happen with our business partners here and across the country."

For more information how TELUS supports SMBs to become socially responsible, please read the newly released whitepaper entitled "Social Responsibility for Your Business".

Since 2000, TELUS and our more than 6,200 team members and retirees living in the Greater Toronto Area will have contributed more than $21 million by year-end in support of countless charities and community organizations including SickKids Foundation, the Children's Aid Foundation and Doctors without Borders Canada. In addition, the TELUS Toronto Community Board has contributed $4.5 million in support of 262 local charitable projects for organizations including Arts for Children and Youth (AFCY), Leave Out Violence (LOVE), Regent Park School of Music and The Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), since its inception in 2005.

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 $30 million to grassroots charitable organizations and supported more than 2,300 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, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.6 billion of annual revenue and 12.8 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million Internet subscribers and 595,000 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 $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 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

For media inquiries, please contact: 
Elisabeth Napolano
TELUS Media Relations
416-906-9830
[email protected].