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RBC Hosts Second Annual Blue Water Day
Wave of support for water travels the globe
TORONTO, JUNE 10, 2011— Today, RBC will celebrate
its second annual RBC Blue Water Day with a wave of activities
in cities around the world to raise awareness about the value
and vulnerability of freshwater. RBC employees, clients and
RBC Blue Water Project grant recipients will join the wave
of support in two national capitals and beyond. In addition,
for every person who 'likes' the RBC Blue Water Project page
and Joins the Wave on Facebook, RBC will donate $1 to the
World Wildlife Fund for its water programs, up to a maximum
of $100,000. A short list of RBC Blue Water Day events includes:
- Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geographic magazine will
unveil Canada's first comprehensive, interactive map of
Canada's 582 watersheds, with an online tool filled with
information, funded by the RBC Blue Water Project. The map
will be launched at a morning event at the Canadian Museum
of Nature.
- Washington, D.C.: RBC will host Alexandra Cousteau
for an evening event at the Canadian Embassy to premiere
two short films about North American rivers, produced while
on her Blue Expedition Tour in 2010, sponsored by the RBC
Blue Water Project.
- Toronto, Ontario: Just in time for summer, Lake
Ontario Waterkeeper and RBC are officially launching The
Swim Guide, the first interactive app to provide comprehensive
information about clean, safe beaches for swimming in Ontario,
funded by the RBC Blue Water Project. RBC employees in the
downtown core will also attempt to create the biggest blue
wave of support for water at Pecaut Square (next to Metro
Hall) at 11:45 a.m. The public is invited to join the wave
as well.
- Calgary, Alberta: RBC will announce a $250,000
grant to the Athabasca University to support the community
engagement program at the Athabasca River Basin Research
Institution.
- Winnipeg, Manitoba: RBC will celebrate a $200,000
RBC Blue Water Project grant given to the Manitoba Museum
to create the Lake Winnipeg Basin Ecosystem Challenge, a
state-of-the-art educational experience. In addition, RBC
will present a $40,000 grant to the Lake Winnipeg Foundation
to support its Sensitive Habitat Inventory Mapping project.
- Montreal, Quebec: Clients and employees will participate
in the St. Lawrence Day of Action, presented by the David
Suzuki Foundation, an RBC Blue Water Grant recipient to
help raise awareness and protect the river (davidsuzuki.org/fr/st-laurent).
Funded by the RBC Blue Water Project, RBC also invites people
to experience CYCLO, an interactive installation about the
journey of water, created by ONE DROP at 1 Place Ville Marie
in Montreal.
- Atlantic Canada: Branch staff across the region
will celebrate seven RBC Blue Water action grants that support
water initiatives in their communities.
- New York, New York: Leading up to Blue Water Day,
RBC employees cleaned up a beach with the New York/New Jersey
BayKeepers in Hastings-On-Hudson, New York; cleared water
chestnuts from Mill Pond in Oyster Bay, New York with the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife services; and removed invasive
species from The Great Swamp Watershed in New Jersey.
- Charlotte, North Carolina: RBC Bank employees will
participate in a Clean Water project at Freedom Park by
helping to restore and preserve a damaged area of the Little
Sugar Creek watershed.
- Minneapolis, Minnesota: Over 100 employees from
RBC Wealth Management and RBC Capital Markets will attend
an event with two-time RBC Blue Water Project Leadership
grant recipient, Friends of the Mississippi River, centered
around a two-hour river cleanup and invasive species removal
project with the organization.
- Caribbean: RBC employees in Trinidad, Jamaica and
Bahamas will celebrate RBC Blue Water Day by reducing their
home water use with a quick, easy idea - inserting a 20
ounce bottle into their toilet tank to decrease the volume
in the tank. In addition, a water education workshop will
be held for more than 100 primary school students in the
Bahamas.
Next week, at the Canadian Water Summit, RBC will also be
announcing a partnership with the Walter and Duncan Gordon
Foundation and the Canadian Water Network in a project that
will outline the role water plays in the Canadian economy.
The RBC Blue Water Project is a 10-year, $50 million philanthropic
commitment to supporting organizations that protect watersheds
and ensure access to clean drinking water in Canada and abroad.
Since 2007, RBC has committed more than $28 million in single
and multi-year grants to over 400 organizations.
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Media contact:
Jackie Braden,
Sponsorship Communications, (416) 974-1724
For more information on the RBC Blue Water Project, visit
www.rbc.com/bluewater
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