CALGARY, Dec. 30, 2013 /CNW/ - RBC delivered on its commitment to
support Calgary and area community organizations by donating more than
$1.8 million in 2013. Funds donated provide assistance to organizations
in areas such as education, financial literacy, environment, athletics
and the arts.
"RBC is focused on improving the lives of Albertans, where it matters,"
says Tonya Currie, regional vice president, Calgary South. "This was
truly an extraordinary year for Calgary, and surrounding communities,
due to the impact of the June floods."
RBC made an initial contribution of $125,000 in support of the Canadian
Red Cross' Disaster Relief Fund immediately following the flood.
"After we made our initial donation, we quickly saw that our employees
were driven to volunteer to help out with disaster recovery," says
Currie. "That's when we created our disaster relief employee volunteer
grant program, and made another donation to the Red Cross in
recognition of more than 5,600 employee volunteer hours.
In addition to this, throughout the year, we continued to focus on areas
that made a real difference to the people, places and communities we
serve," Currie continues. "That included two key social issues in 2013
- improving the lives of children and youth, and our ongoing water
conservation efforts."
In October, RBC announced a five-year, $100 million dollar commitment to
improve the well-being of at least one million kids and youth in
Canada. The Believe in Kids pledge is about addressing the needs of the whole child - mind, body
and spirit alike - and includes support for a wide range of arts,
education, sports, wellness and employment programs.
RBC also continued its commitment to the RBC Blue Water Project, a 10-year global pledge of $50 million to help conserve, and provide
access to, clean water.
"Water conservation continues to be one of the most significant
environmental and economic issues in the world today," adds Currie.
Organizations in Calgary and surrounding areas that received funding in
2013 include:
-
Calgary Counselling Centre
-
Calgary Public Library
-
Bow Valley College, Calgary
-
Centre For Newcomers, Calgary
-
Centre For Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), Calgary
-
Calgary Reads
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations,
sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed
more than $100-million to causes worldwide, including donations and
community investments. Organizations interested in applying for funding
in 2014 can visit http://www.rbc.com/community-sustainability/ for more information.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) is Canada's largest bank as
measured by assets and market capitalization, and is among the largest
banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North
America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide
personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance,
investor services and capital markets products and services on a global
basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who
serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and
institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other
countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.
SOURCE RBC Calgary
