Optimum West

 

General Mills Canada & Canada Post connect Canadians with Olympians

Meet Olympic Gold Medalist Ashleigh McIvor & Olympians Patrick Chan & Chris Del Bosco

What:       As Official Suppliers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, General Mills and Canada Post are proudly giving Canadians an opportunity to share in the Olympic Spirit by meeting some of Canada’s top Olympians, including 2010 Ladies’ Ski Cross Gold Medal Winner Ashleigh McIvor.  McIvor is the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in Ski Cross, earning her place on the podium on Tuesday.  McIvor will be joined by fellow Olympians Chris Del Bosco and Patrick Chan. Del Bosco had been positioned to win bronze in Men’s Ski Cross, and after a spectacular crash trying to charge through for Gold, finished fourth. Three-time Canadian Champion Patrick Chan earned a fifth place position in Men’s Figure Skating.

This autograph-signing session celebrates the Olympians’ commitment to their sport and marks the pinnacle of the CHEER campaign, a cross-Canada outpouring of support and enthusiasm mounted by General Mills Canada in partnership with Canada Post.  The CHEER campaign invited Canadians to write messages of encouragement on postcards, pre-paid courtesy of Canada Post, found on specially-marked Cheerios boxes.  Overall, 13,000 CHEER cards were collected from across the country and delivered to Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic Teams by Canada Post prior to the Games, and 7,000 have been collected during the Games.  The Olympian autograph signing session will take place in front of Canada Post’s main Vancouver postal outlet, where a selection of the CHEER postcards will be displayed for the duration of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Who:         Photo and interview opportunity with:

• Ashleigh McIvor, Ladies’ Ski Cross, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Gold Medalist
• Patrick Chan, Figure Skating, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Fifth Place Finish
• Chris Del Bosco, Men’s Ski Cross, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Fourth Place Finish
• Representatives from General Mills Canada and Canada Post about the importance of building support for our athletes

When:                          Friday, February 26, 2010

• MEDIA AVAILABILITY: 2:30 pm for all three athletes
• Autograph Signing Sessions:

                                                            1:00 - 3:00 pm:  Ashleigh McIvor and Chris Del Bosco

2:30 - 4:30 pm:  Patrick Chan

Where:                        Canada Post’s Vancouver Mail Processing Plant (in the retail parking lot facing Georgia Street, under the “Let’s Go Canada” banner)

349 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC

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For more information or to secure an interview, please contact:

 For Immediate Release: August 6^th, 2009

Twenty-two teams have selected the region as their training grounds for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and officials announce new Mountain Sport Centre funding today

Comox Valley, Vancouver Island - With Vancouver Island’s largest ski resort in its backyard, and a comparable climate to Whistler and the Callaghan valley, hundreds of world class athletes will be converging on the Comox Valley in the lead up to the 2010 Winter Games.

With the six month countdown to the games approaching, twenty-two different teams, from nine nations, have already chosen the Comox Valley as their Olympic training site. Teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, Finland, Australia and Russia from sports including Snowboarding, Ski Cross, Snowboard Cross, Biathlon, Cross Country and Freestyle Skiing, have all committed to training in the area prior to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

The Comox Valley, located on Vancouver Island’s east coast, rests across the scenic Georgia Strait from the Olympic venues of Whistler and the Callaghan Valley. “Our snow conditions and infrastructure are very similar to the 2010 sites, but I think what has really attracted teams here has been the facilities we have been able to develop and the community’s enthusiasm to host them and meet their needs,” said Susan Kelsey, a former summer Olympian and Chair of the Comox Valley’s Spirit of BC Community Committee. “We’ve hosted visits from several Olympic and Paralympic Committees and are very excited to announce that the majority of teams who have seen what we have to offer have selected the region as their 2010 training site.”

Since Vancouver’s successful bid for the 2010 Winter Games, the Comox Valley has attracted two World Cup Paralympic events and several teams have already been in the area to begin their training. Mount Washington and local community organizations have worked together to develop the mountain’s trail network, biathlon and training facilities to international FIS standards.

The largest infrastructure investment in the mountain was announced today. Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan joined officials from Mt. Washington and the Vancouver Island Mountain Sport Society to announce $795,000 in federal funding is being provided to support construction of the Vancouver Island Mountain Sport Centre. The 8,000 square foot Mountain Sports Centre, which will feature a hostel, a weight room, coaching offices and multi-purpose rooms, will be built on land donated by Mount Washington Alpine Resort adjacent to Raven Lodge. The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.8 million, and the Vancouver Island Mountain Sports Society hopes to complete the new facility by winter of 2010.  

“This facility never would have been built if it wasn’t for the attention that the 2010 Winter Games have brought to the Mountain, ” said Don Sharpe, Director of Business Development for Mt. Washington Resort. “The Games have opened our community to the world. It has been the catalyst that has helped us develop the infrastructure that will be a legacy for the Comox Valley. It’s helping us attract world class athletes and sporting events and bringing visitors to come see everything that the area has to offer.”

About Comox Valley Economic Development:

The Comox Valley Economic Development office was formed in 1988 and is a non-profit society with annual funding from the City of Courtenay, Town of Comox, Village of Cumberland, and the Comox Valley Regional District areas A, B and C.

The Comox Valley was one of a handful of B.C. communities to take targeted delegations to the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and 2008 Beijing Summer Games to capitalize on Olympic opportunities for the region.

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Reference Websites:

http://www.sportcomoxvalley.com/

http://mountwashingtonresort.ca/

http://www.discovercomoxvalley.com/

http://www.vimss.com/

Media Inquiries:

Paul Marr                                                 

Optimum Public Relations                        
604-647-6288

Paul.marr@cossette.com                   

- Future Shop provides opportunity for Richmond secondary school with leading resources in the classroom -

BURNABY, BC (September 9, 2009) Future Shop, in partnership with the Richmond Board of Education, opened a Future Generation Tech Lab in the Richmond School District today, solidifying the company’s commitment to secondary students and schools across Canada and addressing one of their leading challenges. With an increasing demand for digital tools in the classrooms, principals have reported that funding for computers and related equipment is an ongoing challenge*. In response, The Future Generation Tech Lab program, established in April 2009, contributes $50,000 donations to each of the selected schools to upgrade classrooms into leading edge technology centres.

To gain an accurate assessment of Canadians thoughts on corporate donations in schools, Future Shop commissioned an Ipsos Reid survey** and found a majority of Canadians (77 per cent) do not believe it is their responsibility to raise funds for school resources, while 87 per cent were in support of corporation donations made to public schools.

“We have the ability to help provide digital tools to schools to inspire motivate, and empower secondary students across Canada,” said Todd Empey, vice-president, operations, Future Shop. “The Future Generation Tech Lab program is designed to give schools the modern technology required to deliver enriched learning environments for our youth”

The survey results also found:

• - Ninety-seven per cent of Canadians indicated it is important for students to have access to up-to-date technology in school
• - Ninety per cent of women are supportive of corporate donations to schools
• - Parents (93 per cent) have an even higher propensity to support corporate donations to public schools than those without children (83 per cent). Support is widespread across Canada

The Future Generation program endeavours to help reduce the economic and digital divide for grades 10-12 students in schools considered by their districts to be high in need.

This type of partnership between the school and a community-focused initiative such as the Future Generation Tech Lab is very helpful to us both in improving academic achievement and teaching modern skills for learning and work.” said Linda McPhail, Chairperson, Board of Education, Richmond.” This program is creating opportunities for many students by providing them with the latest technology and we are extremely pleased to be amongst the first recipients.”

This year, R.C. Palmer Secondary School in Richmond, BC, was selected as a recipient of the Future Generation Tech Lab program.

• R.C. Palmer Secondary School will launch a multi-media lab that will offer grade 10-12 students with access to unique programs including Music Composition and Broadcasting. Richmond’s Virtual School, which boasts one of the highest completion rates in the province, will also find a permanent home in the lab and allow expansion of the program’s offerings to the District’s students.

“The Future Generation Tech Lab program is still in its early stages and we are very excited with the overall response and support we have received from participating schools across the country,” said Empey. “We want to continue to help make a positive impact in our communities, and we believe that providing resources is one of the best ways we can help our local communities and schools succeed.”

To learn more about Future Shop’ Future Generation Tech Lab program, please visit http://www.futureshop.ca//futuregeneration

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*These are findings from the ICTSS that was conducted in October 2003 by Statistics Canada in partnership with the sponsor of the survey, Industry Canada’s SchoolNet program. For more information please visit http://www.statcan.gc.ca/kits-trousses/courses-cours/edu05_0008a-eng.htm.   

**These are findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf o Future Shop from July 14-22, 2009.  This online survey of 1,018 adults aged 18 and older in Canada is accurate within +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

 About Future Shop’s Future Generation

The Future Generation Tech Lab program expands on a nearly 10-year commitment to support students and education in Canada. Since 2001, Future Shop has donated over 500 post-secondary scholarships (valued at $3,000 each), over 600 computers to non-profit partners and five Tech Labs to secondary schools across Canada. Each of Future Shop’s 142 stores donates to non-profits and communities on an individual basis, and supports employee volunteerism with Volunteer Awards.