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It's Win-Win when Business Partners with Charities and Nonprofits!

It's Win-Win when Business Partners with Charities and Nonprofits!

Published 03-06-09

Submitted by Imagine Canada

VANCOUVER, BC. - March 5, 2009 - Imagine Canada tonight celebrated the year's most outstanding partnerships between Canadian businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The Canadian Business & Community Partnership Awards recognize innovative collaborations between leading businesses and their nonprofit partners. These partnerships, which involve more than financial-only support, demonstrate the leadership and commitment of everyone involved. Both parties engage in project design, oversight and implementation.

"We are very proud to recognize these winning partnerships at this Awards ceremony tonight," says Marcel Lauzière, President & CEO of Imagine Canada. "In the current economic environment, it is very heartening to see these businesses maintaining, and even growing, their support of Canada's communities through partnership with charities and nonprofits. These partnerships truly lead by example and we hope others are inspired by their actions."

To be eligible for a partnership award, projects must be sustainable and include active involvement and resources from both parties. The result is best-practices that exemplify how to strengthen the communities in which we work and live. Entries are reviewed by a jury of Canadian community investment professionals and nonprofit leaders.

This year's winners are:

Share the Warmth: Home Energy Efficiency Project
Partners: SaskEnergy, The Salvation Army & Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
About the Partnership: The goal of this partnership is to improve the energy efficiency in the homes of low-income Saskatchewan families, especially during challenging winters. Families benefit with lower energy costs while learning about simple and inexpensive home energy efficiency options. Program partners and other community volunteers come together to perform energy efficiency upgrades in low-income homes in both urban and rural communities throughout Saskatchewan. Share the Warmth program has helped 974 families to become more energy efficient. The program goal is to help 2,500 Saskatchewan families by the year 2010.

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
Partners: TD Bank Financial Group, Vancouver Aquarium, TD Friends of the Environment
Foundation
About the Partnership: The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a direct action conservation program that aims to promote understanding and education about shoreline litter issues by engaging Canadians to rehabilitate shoreline areas through annual cleanups. Vancouver Aquarium volunteers and representatives from TD partner with fellow Canadians to manage, market, recruit and communicate the importance of participating in this initiative. In 2008, this collaborative partnership brought together more than 63,000 Canadians, including nearly 8,000 TD employees, to remove over 135,000 kilograms of harmful littler from shorelines.

The Red Cross Call Centre Partners: TELUS and the Canadian Red Cross Lower Mainland Region
About the Partnership: The Red Cross Call Centre is an integral part of British Columbia's Disaster Response Centre. Using the CallCentreAnywhere TELUS technology allows Canadian Red Cross volunteers and staff to login and receive calls wherever they may be during a crisis. This collaboration allowed those with expertise in disaster management to access telecommunication experts, system hardware, training professionals and the volunteer support of TELUS' retired pool of call agents. The Red Cross Call Centre can be operational 7 days a week, 24 hours per day during major emergencies. More than 80% of disaster relief communication is carried out by volunteers.

Imagine Canada wishes to extend congratulations to the award winners and to acknowledge the efforts of those who submitted their partnerships for consideration. We also wish to thank EnCana Corporation for their sponsorship of this event, enVision Financial for their support and media sponsor Maclean's magazine.

The Canadian Business & Community Partnership Awards in an initiative of Imagine Canada, a national charitable organization that looks into and out for Canada's charities and nonprofit organizations. It advances knowledge and relationships to foster effective and sustainable charitable and nonprofit organizations.

Additional Materials:

Winning Partnership Videos can be viewed on our website at http://www.imaginecanada.ca/en/node/27
or on Imagine Canada's YouTube channel at
http://www.youtube.com/user/ImagineCanada.
For more information, see: www.imaginecanada.ca

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Imagine Canada

Imagine Canada

Imagine Canada is a national registered charity with offices in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa that looks into and out for Canada’s charities and nonprofits. We deliver research that puts the sector on the map and raises its profile in the minds of Canadians. We shape public policy and build support, encourage collaboration and engagement from businesses, government and individuals. And we deliver tools, resources and networking opportunities directly to nonprofits and charities to build and strengthen the sector one organization at a time. Together, they contribute to social progress and vibrant communities. The Caring Company Program Imagine Canada counts more than 120 Canadian businesses as members of the Caring Company program. * Caring Companies are good corporate citizens. * Caring Companies drive social innovation. * Caring Companies invest money, ideas and time in communities across Canada. This is Canada’s leading corporate citizenship initiative. Caring Company membership assures customers, employees, shareholders and the public that a business is committed to investing in communities. This commitment is a key element in strengthening the nonprofit and charitable sector.

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