A bike spinning challenge winds up this campaign that will help a lot of people move forward
MONTREAL, Jan. 14, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - The co-chairs of Centraide's 2014 campaign, Elliot Lifson, Vice-Chairman of Peerless Clothing, and Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, announced today that $55 million had been raised in the Greater Montreal area. ONE in SEVEN people in Montreal, Laval and the South Shore will benefit from this generous harvest.
The funds raised will allow Centraide to support an essential network of some 360 community agencies that help kids succeed, improve living conditions for families that are struggling to feed or house themselves properly, make a place for newcomers, seniors and people with disabilities, and support neighbourhoods that are facing important challenges.
The announcement was made in the presence of Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and some 400 volunteers, donors, and well-known personalities from different walks of life who participated in the Spin-O-Don for Centraide, the final fundraising activity of Campaign 2014. This bike-spinning relay brought together over 300 amateur cyclists, divided into about 70 teams, from the business community, Centraide-supported agencies and the general public. The event raised more than $100,000.
"Today's event is a reflection of the 2014 campaign, with donors and volunteers from the workplace and the community, and people from the community agencies, pooling their energies so that our fellow citizens, our neighbourhoods and even our whole community can move forward towards a better future," said Monique F. Leroux of Mouvement Desjardins.
"Each contribution, large or small, helped to us to advance in the right direction. We want to extend our heartiest thanks to the thousands of donors and volunteers who joined in this adventure with heart and passion in order to brighten the lives of hundreds of thousands of our most vulnerable fellow citizens," added Elliot Lifson of Peerless Clothing.
"Some people's life course could be compared to a bike spinning session, with its obstacles and steeper slopes to climb. But by persevering and supporting each other, we can continue to move forward all together. That's what we do at Centraide; that's what the agencies we support and the people they help do every day. Indeed, this extraordinary teamwork is what, over the 40 years of its existence, has made Centraide's campaign into the biggest movement of caring and solidarity in Quebec," concluded Lili-Anna Pereša.
On the Island of Montreal, one in four people live in poverty. This makes Montreal one of the poorest cities in Canada. Centraide is one of the only local organizations that offer ongoing financial support to agencies that fight poverty and social exclusion. Centraide also takes advantage of its campaign to bring people together and connect them, thereby helping to build the valuable social network that makes Greater Montreal a good place to live, despite its high poverty levels. During its campaign, Centraide organized over 700 presentations in the workplace, and caring activities in community agencies, to make donors more aware of the realities experienced by people in situations of poverty or exclusion.
Centraide of Greater Montreal is an independent organization managed by a board of directors that is representative of the community. It serves the Island of Montreal, Laval, and communities on the South Shore. Centraide supports over 360 community-based agencies and projects that help half a million vulnerable people. Some 57,000 volunteers are involved in the agencies supported by Centraide, and another 23,000 work on its annual campaign. Centraide is supported by some 1,700 private and public corporations and organizations as well as by large trade unions. To learn more: www.centraide-mtl.org.
SOURCE Centraide of Greater Montreal
Annick Gagnon, Public Relations Coordinator, Tel.: 514 288-1261, ext. 242, [email protected], www.centraide-mtl.org, www.centraide-mtl.org, twitter.com/centraidemtl, facebook.com/centraide.du.grand.montreal
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