Together, TELUS and L'Itinéraire celebrate community help

Nearly 10,000 TELUS volunteers across Canada participate in the annual Day of Service

MONTREAL, May 29 /CNW/ - On May 29, nearly 1,000 TELUS team members and retirees in Quebec, with their family and friends, participated in the 5th edition of the TELUS Day of Service, an annual initiative designed to make a positive difference in the communities across the country. On this day, 25 volunteers from the company lent a helping hand by joining Groupe L'Itinéraire in providing assistance to Montreal's homeless and disadvantaged.

"At TELUS, we give where we live," noted François Gratton, Senior Vice-President, Business Markets of TELUS Quebec. "Giving of oneself and one's time are invaluable assets to L'Itinéraire as well as to needy organizations in Montréal and across the country. The TELUS Day of Service embodies our commitment to encourage our culture of generosity, by rallying hearts and minds towards our common goal of improving the health of our communities."

For the second consecutive year, TELUS team volunteers at the Café L'Itinéraire prepared and served over 150 meals for homeless and less fortunate individuals who use the organization's services daily. In Montreal, 600 TELUS employees and retirees offered a helping hand to a number of essential social services organizations; they prepared meals to be redistributed to food banks by La Tablée des Chefs, sorted a variety of food items for Harvest Montreal and in conjunction with MU, created an outdoor mosaic mural for residents of the Corporation d'Habitation Jeanne-Mance.

"We are delighted to welcome TELUS team members to witness our day-to-day operations here at the Café L'Itinéraire," stated Serge Lareault, Editor and Executive Director of Groupe L'Itinéraire. "TELUS has given us a real gift, not only to L'Itinéraire but also to every homeless and needy person in our city."

In addition to supporting L'Itinéraire through the TELUS Day of Service, the TELUS Community Board has donated, since 2005, nearly $25,000 for the social and socio-professional integration sector of the youth. Drawing inspiration from the concept of street newspapers such as L'Itinéraire Magazine, this project allowed approximately forty homeless youths each year to receive job training and learn the basics of audiovisual production.

In 2009, over 9,100 team members, family, friends and retirees participated in the TELUS Day of Service, contributing 28,000 volunteer hours in 175 events held in 23 regions across Canada. Since its inception in 2006, the TELUS Day of Service has mobilized 30,200 individuals to volunteer at 775 TELUS-organized activities benefiting the communities where we live, work and serve.

About L'Itinéraire

Since 1990, Groupe communautaire L'Itinéraire, a Montréal not-for-profit organization, has developed social economy projects aimed at improving living conditions among the city's homeless population, many of who struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. The Groupe's mission is to increase the knowledge, creativity and autonomy of individuals in crisis due to issues of marginalization and homelessness. L'Itinéraire helps these people find their place in society and develop self-esteem through participation in concrete projects such as L'Itinéraire newspaper, the Café and L'Itinéraire Productions (for 18-30 year olds), as well as reintegration initiatives and psychosocial interventions.

The organization welcomes nearly 2,000 individuals annually, of which 450 participate directly in socio-professional reintegration initiatives. After six months of participation in these programs, at-risk individuals typically experience a heightened sense of autonomy and their residential status stabilizes.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.6 billion of annual revenue and 11.9 million customer connections including 6.6 million wireless subscribers, 3.9 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and 200,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $158 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 3.1 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada 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.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: All media requests should be directed to: Jacinthe Beaulieu, TELUS Media Relations, [phone], [email protected]