MONTREAL, Nov. 16, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The 19th annual RBC Challenge for Centraide, a relay race up the stairs to the top of Place Ville Marie, raised a record $250,000 for Centraide of Greater Montreal's 2016 campaign. That's $40,000 more than last year.
Some 50 relay teams of athletes and corporate employees raced up the 1,000 steps of the tower's 41 flights with the aim of beating the standing record of 2 minutes 38 seconds, while raising funds for Centraide through sponsorships and donations.
Athletes Lex Albrecht (cycling), Gabriel Beauchesne-Sévigny (canoeing-kayaking), Caroline Calvé (snow surfing), Marc-Antoine Gagnon (acrobatic skiing), Mikaël Kingsbury (acrobatic skiing), Caroline Ouellette (ice hockey), Marie-Philip Poulin (ice hockey), Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau (acrobatic skiing) and Karine Thomas (synchronized swimming) competed against 500 corporate employees.
Some business leaders took up the challenge as well by forming teams, notably Martin Thibodeau, President, Quebec Headquarters, RBC Royal Bank, and Centraide campaign co-chair Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board of Transcontinental Inc.
The RBC Challenge is organized in collaboration with Place Ville Marie. All the proceeds will be donated to Centraide Campaign 2016, which runs until the end of December.
RBC contributes to the prosperity of communities by supporting a wide variety of local initiatives through donations, social investments, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2015, RBC donated more than $121 million to causes worldwide.
Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors that is representative of the community. It serves Laval, Montreal and the South Shore. About 57,000 volunteers are involved in the some 350 agencies it supports, and another 22,000 work on its annual campaign. It is supported by about 1,200 private and public corporations and organizations as well as by large trade unions. In Quebec, there are 18 Centraides supporting 1,500 community agencies and projects that offer help and comfort to 1.3 million vulnerable people.
SOURCE Centraide of Greater Montreal
Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator, Centraide of Greater Montreal, 514 288-1261, ext. 242, [email protected], centraide-mtl.org; Denis Dubé, Director, Media and Public Relations, RBC, 514 874-6556, [email protected], rbc.com
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