Union Gas Helps Bring Safety To Life For London Area Children

$3,000 grant to the YMCA Children's Safety Village

LONDON, ON, July 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Union Gas is helping the YMCA Children's Safety Village's reduce childhood injuries by teaching children from Kindergarten to grade four about personal responsibility and awareness regarding safety, through a $3,000 grant awarded today.

Scott Harris, Union Gas utility service manager for London presented the cheque to Chris Wick, manager of the YMCA Children's Safety Village, today at the Safety Village.  

The YMCA Children's Safety Village provides participating children with hands on safety lessons about travelling in cars, riding bikes, walking down the street, being in the kitchen and encountering a fire in the home. The lessons are taught by educators from the police and fire departments and link directly to the school curriculum.

"One of our core company values is safety, both on and off the job. Safety is so important to our employees that we are also very active in getting others to focus on it," said Harris.  "That's why we support important safety educational programs in the communities we serve, such as those offered here at the Safety Village, which help children in London embrace personal safety."

"YMCA of Western Ontario is proud to serve the community by offering educational safety lessons to local children from kindergarten through grade four in a safe, hands-on environment at the Children's Safety Village. The children come away from this program having learned important safety lessons that they can share with their families and peers," said Mike Ennis, YMCA vice president of camping and youth engagement. "The YMCA Children's Safety Village is a perfect example of how we are working with community partners like Union Gas and the London Police and Fire Departments to build healthy children, families and communities."

For more than 100 years, Union Gas has been privileged to work in more than 400 Ontario communities. Each year, the company supports the communities where its employees live and work through thousands of volunteer hours for local charitable and non-profit organizations, major charitable giving and sponsorships. Last year, Union Gas donated close to $3 million to community and charitable organizations in Ontario, including over $928,000 to United Way.  In addition, Union Gas employees, retirees, family and friends provided over 17,000 volunteer hours to help strengthen the communities where they live and work. For more information visit uniongas.com/community.

About theYMCA of Western Ontario, Children's Safety Village
The YMCA Children's Safety Village, located in the Thames Valley District within the Fanshawe Conservation Area, operates in conjunction with educators from the police and fire departments, with support from the Safety Village Board of Directors, the London District Catholic School Board, and the Thames Valley District School Board. The YMCA Children's Safety Village is a child-sized village. Through hands on safety lessons the Children's Safety Village helps reduce injuries by teaching children from kindergarten to grade four about individual safety and awareness while travelling in cars, riding bikes, walking down the street, being in the kitchen and encountering a fire in the home.

About Union Gas
Union Gas Limited, a Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) company, is a major Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with 100 years of experience and service to customers, assets of over $6.4 billion and approximately 2,200 employees. The distribution business serves about 1.4 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 400 communities across Ontario. Union Gas is one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2014. For more information, visit uniongas.com or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/uniongas, Facebook: facebook.com/uniongas and YouTube: youtube.com/user/uniongas.

SOURCE: Union Gas Limited

Union Gas Limited: Andrea Stass, Manager, External Communications and Media Relations, Ph: 519 436-5490 or 1-800-571-8446 ext. 5005490, Cell: 519 365-1010, [email protected]; YMCA of Western Ontario, Children's Safety Village: Chris Wick, Manager of Day Camps and Children's Safety Village, 519-453-8858 x653, [email protected]; YMCA of Western Ontario, Media Contact: Anne Baxter, Director, Marketing & Communications, 519-667-2351, [email protected]