For immediate release:

October 19, 2007

 

Toronto – Giving back to the communities in which they work and live – this is what inspired the team of 300 volunteers strong to donate their time, skills and energy to the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club today. The volunteers represent over 20 national corporations that form the Corporate Council on Volunteering, a Volunteer Canada program that drives the corporate community to encourage and support their employees to engage in volunteering activities across the country.

 

“Showcasing the tremendous potential of the corporate volunteer movement like this at the Boys and Girls Club is a strong demonstration of leadership,” says Ruth MacKenzie, president of Volunteer Canada and co-chair of the Council. “The Corporate Council on Volunteering continues to lead the way in sharing their vision for stronger, more cohesive, and caring communities and they are paving the road for the rest of the corporate community to follow”.

 

The Corporate Council on Volunteering has grown to become one of the largest corporate volunteerism initiatives in Canada. Since its creation in 2005, through a partnership between Volunteer Canada and The Home Depot Canada, the Council’s membership has grown to include 21 corporate leaders.

 

 

“We encourage the corporate community to join us in igniting a culture of employer-supported volunteerism across the country,” said Annette Verschuren, president of The Home Depot Canada and Asia and co-chair of the Council. “By showing the country what we can do here in Toronto, we want to inspire others in the corporate community to find ways to give back to their own communities.”

 

The volunteers were divided into project teams, each assigned to a specific extreme makeover activity. They painted and redecorated program rooms, built display boards and AV cabinets, replaced flooring, and created a large scale partition walls intended for quiet homework space. The Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club relies on volunteer efforts, such as this initiative, to help them serve the hundreds of children who walk through the club every day.

 

“This voluntary initiative is so beneficial to our clubs,” said Pam Jolliffe, President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. “Making club spaces safe, inviting and fully functional places for children and youth to flourish is an important priority for the clubs. Yet it’s always challenging to fund these very necessary building improvement projects. We thank the hundreds of volunteers who gave of their time today to provide a very valuable service.”

 

The Corporate Council on Volunteering has just visited the Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary, Thorncliffe Club and the Dawson Boys and Girls Club in Montreal. All of the clubs are benefiting from an extreme makeover through the tremendous work of employer-supported volunteers.

 

The participating businesses are all members of the Corporate Council on Volunteering. Members of the Council include: The Home Depot Canada; Bell Canada; Best Buy; Ernst & Young LLP; Future Shop.; IBM; Investors Group; KPMG; Manulife Financial; MBNA; Microsoft; Molson; Power Corporation of Canada; PriceWaterhouseCoopers; RBC Financial Group; SAP Canada; STAPLES The Business Depot; TransAlta; TELUS; UPS Canada; and Wal-Mart Canada Corp.

 

About Volunteer Canada

Volunteer Canada is the national voice for volunteerism in Canada. Since 1977, the organization has been committed to increasing and supporting volunteerism and civic participation through ongoing programs, special projects and national initiatives, by developing resources and by engaging in research and training across the country. Working with volunteer centres, community and national organizations and businesses, Volunteer Canada actively leads national dialogues on how volunteerism is related to citizen engagement and civil society and provides leadership on issues and trends in the Canadian volunteer movement. To learn more about Volunteer Canada, please visit volunteer.ca.

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Media contact:

Elizabeth Gray-Smith 

Manager of Communications

Volunteer Canada

613-231-4371, ext. 226

OR 613-266-9427