CN Canadian Women's Open raises $2.1 M for Montreal children's hospital charities - a program record

MONTREAL, Aug. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - CN announced today that the CN Canadian Women's Open raised $2.1 million for the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation and the Ste-Justine UHC Foundation through the CN Miracle Match program,  which was created in 2006 to raise funds for children's hospitals by matching funds raised through various initiatives connected with the CN Canadian Women's Open. The amount raised this year at the tournament at Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, QC, is a record for the CN Miracle Match.

"This is an outstanding achievement," said Claude Mongeau, CN president and chief executive officer. "The citizens of Montreal have truly opened their hearts to the cause of children's health. We at CN are deeply appreciative of their generosity, and join with Montrealers in recognizing the contribution made by these two institutions to their community."

This is really a great day for Quebec's children, for their parents and friends. With the Miracle Match, CN has provided a powerful boost to the generosity of our donors and we, at the Montreal Children's hospital, are very grateful for this initiative", said Louise Dery-Goldberg, President of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation. "The money raised thanks to the CN Miracle Match initiative will help us build the new Children's."

"The expertly organized Miracle Match campaign highlighted the issue of children's health all summer long," explained Anièle Lecoq, president and executive director of the Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation. "By matching the funds raised, CN gave a boost to the efforts of the thousands of individuals and groups that strive tirelessly to continue to offer children throughout the province of Quebec, and their mothers, specialized and overspecialized care on par with the best practices in the world.''

With this year's results, CN has now raised $6.45 million for children's health since the CN Miracle Match was launched at the inaugural CN Canadian Women's Open in London ON in 2006.

"Working together, the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, the Ste-Justine UHC Foundation and CN have made a remarkable contribution to children's health in this community, " said Claude Mongeau. "On behalf of all CN employees in this city - our home base - I thank the foundations and the thousands of people who donated to this campaign."

ABOUT THE SAINTE-JUSTINE UHC FOUNDATION

The Sainte-Justine UHC Foundation is one of the largest hospital foundations in Quebec and Canada. It acts as a catalyst to unite donors and philanthropic interests in order to address the most pressing needs of the UHC.

ABOUT THE MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

The Montreal Children's Hospital is the pediatric teaching hospital of the McGill University Health Centre. The Children's is a leader in providing a broad spectrum of highly specialized care to newborns, children, and adolescents from all across Quebec. The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation is currently leading The Best Care for Children Campaign to support the construction of the new Montreal Children's Hospital, which began last summer (2010) on the Glen Campus in Montreal.

ABOUT THE 2011 CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN

Stars of the LPGA Tour will challenge for the 2011 CN Canadian Women's Open, with a US$2.25 million prize purse, from August 22 to 28 at the Hillsdale Golf and Country Club in Mirabel, Quebec.

Tickets for the only LPGA tournament taking place in Canada can be purchased online, at http://www.cncanadianwomensopen.com, or by phone, at 1-866-571-LPGA (5742). For up-to-date information about corporate packages, tickets, volunteer opportunities or corporate hospitality, please visit the website.

CN (TSX: CNR)(NYSE: CNI) - Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company's website at http://www.cn.ca.

ABOUT GOLF CANADA
LOVE THE GAME. GROW THE GAME.

Golf Canada - a member-based organization governed by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) - is the governing body of golf in Canada, representing close to 350,000 members at almost 1,500 clubs across the country.   Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sports Organization (NSO) for golf in this country, Golf Canada is responsible for promoting participation in and a passion for the game of golf in Canada.

Golf Canada actively conducts championships, programs and services to help shape the present and future of golf in Canada.   High performance athlete development, National Golf in Schools, Golf Fore the Cure, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and CN Future Links, Canada's national junior golf program, are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada.   As the authority for golf in Canada, the association also administers the Rules of Golf, amateur status and handicapping and course rating under the respected RCGA brand.

In addition, Golf Canada conducts Canada's most prestigious golf championships.  The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women's Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships provide world class competitive opportunities for Canada's top golfers to showcase their talents.

For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit us online at www.golfcanada.ca.

SOURCE CN