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
