TELUS team to once again Give Where We Live

13,000 TELUS volunteers come together for eighth annual TELUS Day of Giving
Canadians invited to show how we #givewherewelive

VANCOUVER, May 23, 2013 /CNW/ - On Saturday, May 25, thousands of TELUS team members and retirees, friends and family, across Canada will take part in the eighth annual TELUS Day of Giving.

"TELUS Day of Giving is always an exceptional opportunity for our TELUS team members, retirees, their friends and family members to make a meaningful difference in their local communities across Canada," said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. "Guided by our deeply rooted philosophy - we give where we live - our 13,000 volunteers will be undertaking more than 500 activities nationwide such as helping at children's hospitals, feeding homeless citizens, sorting thousands of pounds of food bank donations and completing ecological face lifts at community parks."

This year, TELUS is extending its Give Where We Live philosophy to its customers and business partners by inviting them to join in for TELUS Day of Giving. Additionally, Canadians are invited to show us how they give where we live. Now until June 15, take a photo, upload, tweet or Instagram it with the hashtag #givewherewelive to givewherewelive.ca and tell us how you give back to your community. At the end of the campaign, you could be one of 10 Canadians who will receive $10,000 to make a donation to your favourite charity and truly make a difference.

"Since its inception in 2006, TELUS Day of Giving has mobilized more than 65,465 TELUS team members, retirees, family and friends to volunteer at 1,650 activities benefiting the communities where we live, work and serve," continued Mr. Entwistle. "That adds up to 192,545 hours of painting, gardening, planting trees, landscaping, cooking, serving lunch, sorting cans of food, sewing and much more for citizens in need of a helping hand."

We Give Where We Live
TELUS, its team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000.  In 2012 alone, TELUS contributed over $44 million to charities and non-profit organizations across Canada, equaling almost 2.5% of our pre-tax profit. TELUS' heartfelt efforts in this regard focus on educating and empowering youth to improve their quality of life and to enable them to reach their full potential.

• Since their inception in 2005, the eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada have contributed more than $35 million to grassroots charitable organizations and supported more than 2,800 grassroots projects across Canada that have positively impacted more than 2 million youth across our country.
  
  
• Through our TV for Good and Phones for Good campaigns, TELUS donates to local grassroots community projects for every new TELUS TV and/or smartphone customer in specific communities. Since 2009, TELUS has contributed more than $9.5 million to 64 local community projects through our Phones for Good and TV for Good campaigns.
  
  
• Through our Team TELUS Charitable Giving program, TELUS matches team member and retiree donations made to Canadian registered charities, dollar for dollar. In 2012 alone, the TELUS team donated $6.8 million through this program. Since 2000, this annual workplace campaign has provided TELUS and our team members with an opportunity to contribute more that $63 million to charitable organizations in Canada.
  
  
• The TELUS Community Ambassadors program provides a vehicle for retiree and team member volunteerism. The program maintains the tradition of community giving that has been part of the telecommunications industry for more than 100 years. In 2012 alone, our Community Ambassadors assembled and distributed nearly 12,000 Comfort Kits for homeless people and displaced families, nearly 10,000 backpacks filled with school supplies for students in need, and 3,000 heart pillows to comfort patients who have undergone open heart surgery.

To learn more about TELUS' commitment to the community, please visit telus.com/community.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $11 billion of annual revenue and 13.2 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation