TELUS gives $106,000 this season to support youth-focused charities and projects
Kelowna, B.C. – It’s a sizzling summer of giving as TELUS today announced the TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board has funded more than $106,000 in support of 15 youth-focused charities and projects so far this season.
“On behalf of our board members, I am thrilled with the positive and meaningful impact these projects are having on our community and we are so very proud to support them,” said Nancy Greene Raine, Chairman of the TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board. “The ongoing commitment of the TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board to give where we live will continue to help vital organizations support the young people in the region and make a real difference in the lives of our most precious resource – our youth.”
The TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board is comprised of community leaders and TELUS team members who come together to make local funding decisions in areas that positively impact the future of youth in the local community. The Board expects to donate $300,000 to regional charities this year.
Included in this round of funding, members of the TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board recently presented cheques this summer to:
$5,000 - The Summerland Asset Development Initiative
$5,000 - Okanagan Children’s Theatre Society – A volunteer driven non-profit society that provides quality, educational performing arts programs for children and teens. Funds will be used to run a 14-week program in Kelowna to promote self-esteem, build confidence and allow individuals with disabilities to experience the raw energy and challenges of theatre.
$10,000 - Bumbershoot Children’s Theatre – This youth theatre program is an audition-based performance troupe comprised of young people from the ages of 6-18. Funds allocated will allow youth involvement in eight performances throughout August and September.
$3,000 - Civilian Sponsoring Committee for 232 Bighorn Squadron, Oliver – The squadron promotes and encourages the nation's youth members to develop and maintain an interest in aviation and aerospace and to foster and assist growth in those fields for those interested in pursuing a career. Funds will help purchase a flight simulator that will benefit the 27 current cadets as well as all future cadets.
$2,500 - Dragonfly Pond Family Society – Dragonfly Pond is committed to supporting families with children of dall ages up to 18, who have complex care needs and/or disabilities living in the South Okanagan Similkameen. The Recycling Program operates weekly and involves youth by allowing them to pick up bottles from a handful of local business and then recycle them. Youth participants then decide where to go for a weekly treat with some of the earnings.
TELUS funding focuses on educating and empowering youth to improve their quality of life and to enable them to reach their full potential. Since its launch in 2011, The TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board has given more than $300,000 in support of 42 community projects in the region. Some of the funding recipients include Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops, Okanagan Science Centre, Osoyoos Child Care Society, Whitevalley Community Resource Centre and Ballet Kelowna. Local organizations are invited to apply for up to $20,000 in one-time funding for innovative youth projects in the areas of arts and culture, education and sports and health and well-being in our environment.
For more information about the TELUS Thompson Okanagan Community Board or to apply for funding which benefit the communities of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Vernon, Lumby, Armstrong, Kamloops, Peachland, Summerland, Penticton, Oliver and Osoyoos, please visit telus.com/community.
About the TELUS Community BoardsTELUS 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, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Rimouski, Quebec City, Atlantic Canada and the Thompson Okanagan region of B.C. Since their inception in 2005, the Community Boards have contributed more than $30 million to grassroots charitable organizations and supported more than 2,300 community projects. Last year, the boards donated a total of $5.05 million in support of 418 projects in Canadian communities. Contributions made through our local Community Boards, are made possible by our customers and our shareholders. 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.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.6 billion of annual revenue and 12.8 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million Internet subscribers and 595,000 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.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Shawn Hall
TELUS Media Relations
604-697-8176
shawn.hall@telus.com