TELUS honours Lower Mainland charities and individuals making a difference

TELUS hosted its 10th annual Celebration of Giving, where TELUS and their team members honour local charities, dedicated community members and local businesses who work tirelessly to make a significant impact on the lives of children and youth in need throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

 

Since 2011, TELUS Innovation Awards have been presented to 16 projects during the annual Celebration of Giving, and this morning two extraordinary projects were honoured with the award and a TELUS cheque for $2,500. The recipients of this year’s honour are One Health Clinic, a project of Paws for Hope Foundation; and SFU Technovation, a project of Simon Fraser University Faculty of Applied Sciences, which provides mentorship and support to local participants of the global Technovation Challenge.

 

The One Health Clinic is the first of its kind in B.C. Paws for Hope is an animal welfare organization that partnered with Directors Youth Services and Community Veterinary Outreach to offer medical assistance for vulnerable people and youth, in addition to helping them care for their pets. There’s a special bond between homeless youth and their pets, and many homeless youth don’t have the money to pay for their pets’ veterinary care. The One Health Clinic offers medical and dental care for the pet owners, and veterinary care for the animals. In just one day in December, this clinic touched the lives of 25 homeless youth and their furry friends.

 

SFU Technovation is a regional partner of the Technovation Challenge, an international initiative that since 2010 has challenged more than 11,000 girls from more than 100 countries to participate in its technology entrepreneurship program. In 2016, SFU Faculty of Applied Sciences realized this was a perfect way to inspire local girls aged 10-18 with a love of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). Girls learned how to code and develop an app to address such community issues as poverty, environment, peace and equality.  At the end of 12 weeks they pitched their app at a “Dragons Den Style Pitch” session. This year, a team of Grade 8 students affiliated with the SFU Technovation program advanced to the final round of the competition, and was the only Canadian team to do so. They competed against five other international teams in their junior division category at the World Pitch Summit in Silicon Valley in August.

 

It was also announced that this year, the TELUS Vancouver Community Board is committed to giving $10 million to local grassroots organizations throughout the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

 

Here is more information about TELUS giving and their community boards.

 

• There are 13 TELUS Community Boards across Canada, and five internationally.

• In 2016, TELUS gave more than $42 million and our team members and retirees volunteered more than 870,000 hours.

• In 2016, TELUS Community Boards in Canada gave out $6 million in charitable grants and supported 60 projects from coast to coast. Locally, TELUS partners directly with organizations including BC Women’s Hospital, A Loving Spoonful, Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, WE, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

• In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, TELUS is committed to donating more than one million volunteer hours in the communities where our team members live, work and serve.