TELUS honoured with the Award for Philanthropic Company of the Year

TELUS becomes the first company to be recognized by AFP-Quebec Chapter
An 85-year history of innovation in support of Quebec communities

MONTREAL, Nov. 16, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS has become the first organization to be named Philanthropic Company of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Quebec Chapter (AFP-QC).

François Gratton, President of TELUS Quebec and TELUS Atlantic and Vice-Chair of the TELUS Montreal Community Board, will accept the honour on TELUS' behalf. The award will be presented on National Philanthropy Day today, when AFP-QC pays tribute to individuals and companies whose community engagement has a significant impact on Quebec society. TELUS was nominated by The Lighthouse Children and Families.

"TELUS plays an invaluable role in the development of a culture of philanthropy in Quebec. The company serves as an international benchmark in community investment, and we are delighted to honour this unwavering commitment by bestowing on TELUS our very first annual Award for Philanthropic Company of the Year," said AFP-QC President Susan Reitz. "We hope this recognition will inspire new and innovative philanthropic projects."

Since 2000, the TELUS team has donated more than $300 million to numerous charitable and not-for-profit organizations across the country and has volunteered in excess of 4.7 million hours of service to local communities. Last year, in Quebec alone, the company donated more than $5 million to dozens of organizations, including Opération Enfant Soleil, the Association du cancer de l'Est du Québec, The Lighthouse Children and Families and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. These efforts were previously recognized in 2010 when the Association of Fundraising Professionals presented TELUS with the international Freeman Philanthropic Services Award for Outstanding Corporation.

"Our community strategy is driven by the same philosophy that is the fibre of our corporate DNA: We give where we live. We firmly believe that to succeed in business we must actively contribute to the welfare of the communities in which we operate," said Mr. Gratton. "We are deeply honoured to receive this award from the AFP-QC, which we share with our 5,500 team members in Quebec, many of whom are dedicated volunteers, as well as with our customers, whose unwavering confidence has been key to the extent to which we have been able to give back to our communities."

Honouring its dedicated team members
A key aspect of TELUS's philanthropic initiatives is the collaborative involvement of its employees and retirees. TELUS engages its team members and encourages volunteerism through a variety of programs, specifically by matching employee donations to registered charities. Moreover, current and retired team members who contribute a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer service may request a $200 corporate donation to the charitable organization of their choice. Each year, the company organizes the TELUS Day of Giving, on which more than 12,000 individuals across the country roll up their sleeves and actively support a wide range of local community initiatives. The annual TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes is also the signature fundraising event for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). This year, more than 4,200 TELUS team members, family and friends participated with thousands of other Canadians.

Coast-to-coast Community Board involvement
TELUS believes that the best approach to ensuring the welfare of our communities is to put decision-making in the hands of local civic leaders. Accordingly, the company has created 11 Community Boards across Canada—including three in Quebec—and three internationally that have contributed in excess of $30 million to more than 2,800 community projects since 2005. Community Board members assess funding requests by prioritizing projects in the areas of health and wellness in our environment, education and sports, and arts and culture. More specifically, preference is given to projects that support young people, and demonstrate tangible technological or social innovation.

Devices for the cause

TELUS also applies innovative cause marketing initiatives that enable our customers to support local organizations when subscribing to Optik TV, or purchasing smartphones and other devices. Through these campaigns, TELUS has donated $10 million to 40 community projects since 2009, including $560,000 to Opération Enfant Soleil between 2010 and 2012, and $650,000 to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.8 billion of annual revenue and 13.0 million customer connections including 7.6 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 635,000 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.

Image with caption: "TELUS was nominated as the Philanthropic Company of the Year by The Lighthouse Children and Families. In this photo: Bernard Lamarre, François Gratton (TELUS) and Lyse Lussier (The Lighthouse Children and Families) (CNW Group/TELUS Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121116_C8873_PHOTO_EN_20816.jpg

Image with caption: "Each year, TELUS organizes the TELUS Day of Giving, on which more than 12,000 individuals across the country roll up their sleeves and actively support a wide range of local community initiatives. (CNW Group/TELUS Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121116_C8873_PHOTO_EN_20812.jpg

Image with caption: " TELUS applies innovative cause marketing initiatives that enable our customers to support local organizations when subscribing to Optik TV, or purchasing smartphones and other devices. Through these campaigns, TELUS has donated $560,000 to Opération Enfant Soleil between 2010 and 2012. In this photo: Jean-François St-Germain (TELUS) and Ginette Charest (Opération Enfant Soleil).(CNW Group/TELUS Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121116_C8873_PHOTO_EN_20814.jpg

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation

Jacinthe Beaulieu
TELUS Media Relations
418-318-6102
[email protected]