Toronto H.E.R.O.S. hockey program scores with TELUS

Free after-school hockey program receives largest funding support to date

Toronto, ON – TELUS today announced a new three year partnership and $1 million in support of the free after-school hockey program for at-risk youth – the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (H.E.R.O.S.). TELUS’ contribution is the largest support the program has received to date.

“We are overjoyed to receive this generous support from TELUS, an organization that continues to invest in H.E.R.O.S. and in turn invest in the future of the children in our program,” said Norm Flynn, executive director and founder of H.E.R.O.S. “With the help of TELUS, we can continue to expand the program to add more youth, mentors, equipment and ice time. TELUS’ contributions have been instrumental in the growth and continuation of this program and we are very proud to have them as one of our most loyal partners.”

The $1 million will provide strong support for the continuation and operation of ten programs in seven cities across Canada including: Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto in Regent Park and Jane/Finch and newly expanded to Montreal. Funds will help to enhance the program with the addition of more on-ice instruction, equipment replacement, academic assistance, nutrition programs, field trips and mentor training.

“The H.E.R.O.S. program is highly successful at engaging youth in a way that encourages them to make the right choices both on and off the ice,” said Jill Schnarr, vice-president, TELUS Community Investment. “TELUS is committed to helping youth across Canada gain access to the opportunities in their communities that they may not otherwise be able to afford. At TELUS, we give where we live, investing in our communities and our future.”

H.E.R.O.S. offers at-risk youth in local communities across the country the opportunity and resources to play the game. Across Canada, H.E.R.O.S. has worked with more than 1,800 at-risk youth in local communities. H.E.R.O.S., an affiliate of the NHL Hockey is for Everyone program, works to communicate the benefits of hockey in building self esteem and life skills to help vulnerable kids make healthy choices.

TELUS has supported H.E.R.O.S. since 2004, helping the program expand from Vancouver to six other Canadian cities. To date, including today’s announcement, TELUS has now committed more than $1.5 million to H.E.R.O.S. TELUS team members also volunteer their time to help coach and mentor the youth in the program.

About H.E.R.O.S.
H.E.R.O.S. is a registered Canadian charitable organization that empowers children of diverse ethnicity from socio-economic challenged neighbourhoods through ice hockey and education.

H.E.R.O.S. uses ice hockey as a catalyst to promote positive behaviour by focusing on skills development, self-esteem enhancement, team building and leadership training. H.E.R.O.S. started in 1999 in Vancouver’s downtown east side and now operates 10 programs in 7 cities across Canada including: Vancouver, Sunshine Coast, Calgary (x 2), Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto (x 3) and Montreal. This year, H.E.R.O.S. will work with more than 350 children across Canada. Since 1999, H.E.R.O.S. has worked with over 1,800 girls and boys and has a national program retention rate of 85 per cent.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.6 billion of annual revenue and 12 million customer connections including 6.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.8 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and 228,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $158 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 3.1 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada 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.