Aug 11: BC non-profits compete for largest corporate gift of its kind in Canada

Vancity to celebrate $5 million dollar community investment

Vancouver, BC, August 11, 2005 – Four BC non-profit groups will compete for the largest corporate gift of its kind in Canada, a $1-million grant established by Vancity to support cutting-edge community projects.

Each year, Vancity shares 30 per cent of its profits with its members and communities, including the $1-million Vancity Award. This year will mark the fifth anniversary and a $5-million investment of the program, which supports the social, environmental and economic well-being of the community. This year’s finalists include:

• Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC for the expansion of its groundbreaking www.youthinbc.com program that will provide 24/7 one-on-one online chat support to 600,000 youth and adults in crisis across BC.
  www.crisiscentre.bc.ca
  
  
• The Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver for the creation of a centre for children of offenders with the goal to breaking the cycle of crime through peer, mentor and school programs.
  www.elizabethfry.com
  
  
• Our Place for the construction of a new centre that will provide food, health services, life skills training and transitional housing for Victoria’s disadvantaged.
  www.upperroomweb.org
  
  
• PLEA Community Services Society for their KidStart Mentoring Program. KidStart is a proven early response for children age 6+ who are vulnerable to crime, addiction and exploitation. Volunteer mentors provide gifts of time and friendship helping to protect these kids, build resiliency and grow up safely.
  www.plea.ca

The winner is chosen by Vancity’s members, who will cast their votes online, by phone and in-branch from September 6 to October 14. The winner will be announced in November.

"This award shows that Vancity is a Canadian leader in innovative philanthropy," says Georgina Steinsky-Schwartz, President and CEO of Imagine Canada, a national organization that supports charitable and nonprofit organizations and socially responsible businesses in the work they do. "The award provides a level of support that enables small community-based non-profit organizations to dramatically leverage their reach and impact. At the same time it directly engages and educates the community because they get to vote for the award-winning project."

"We choose the groups based on the potential impact – is the project truly innovative, will it help us build communities that are stronger and healthier? Will it leave a meaningful legacy? It’s up to our members to decide and while these are all great projects, we can’t wait to see what resonates with them," says Elain Duvall, Chair of Vancity’s board of directors.

Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $10.5 billion in assets, more than 300,000 members, and 42 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity was chosen as the best place to work in Canada for 2005 by Maclean’s Magazine as part of its annual Canada’s Top 100 Employers issue. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to helping members and communities thrive and prosper.