Fondation Desjardins Honours Six Organizations for Outstanding Commitment to Social Causes

Lévis (Québec), October 14, 2009 – Yesterday, in the company of the Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group, Monique F. Leroux, Desjardins Annual Prizes were awarded to six not-for-profit organizations. Fondation Desjardins chose Cooperation Week as the moment to highlight the outstanding social commitment that these organizations have demonstrated. The winners are:

Senior Citizen Assistance
Centre d'action bénévole D'Autray inc. (CABA), Berthierville

The Centre d'action bénévole D'Autray offers services to more than 2,650 users, who are mainly senior citizens, people recovering from illnesses, and those needing assistance in daily living. Among other achievements, the Centre has initiated an original and innovative project in the Carrefour d'information pour aînés, recognized by the Secrétariat aux aînés du Québec.

Community Development
Centre d'action bénévole de Bedford & environs inc.

Founded in 1979, this organization offers assistance with meeting basic needs for families and the community, as well as promoting and developing volunteer activities. It is known for the creation of a public safety manual that has been distributed to over 5,000 people throughout the region. Its goal is to help the public put together emergency kits to deal with various natural disasters.

Le Tour de Lire, Montréal

Since 1980, Le Tour de lire has been working to reduce illiteracy and low education rates in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood of Montréal. An interactive news Web site, Alphamonde, is offered to enable people who have difficulty reading to participate in discussions and become familiar with the Internet as a forum for expression, learning and citizen awareness.

Youth Assistance
La Maison des enfants de Varennes

The goal of La Maison des enfants de Varennes is to recognize the place of children from 5 to 12 years old in our society, to help them build self-esteem and develop communication skills, to create support networks among children, and to protect ties between children and their families. The Maison gives children the chance to communicate by mail to break their isolation, and it offers help with studies encouraging parent involvement.

Cultural Services
Les Imprudanses, Montréal

Les Imprudanses is a movement improvisation league made up of new dancers on the Montréal scene. Since 2003, it has been hosting matches featuring modern dance between duelling teams of players. It also offers training activities.

Sustainable Development
Groupe de collaboration internationale en ingénierie de l'Université de Sherbrooke (GCIUS)

The Groupe de collaboration internationale en ingénierie de l'Université de Sherbrooke (GCIUS) was formed by students in 2002. Its mission is to carry out engineering projects that lead to sustainable improvements in the quality of life for communities in need in developing countries. One such project in Burkina Faso has led to the use of a process for cooking rice that uses solar energy instead of burning wood. The team is now in Malawi working on the construction of buildings to be used by an organization fighting AIDS.

In addition, a special honourable mention was awarded to showcase the achievements of the Corporation pour le Développement des Loisirs et des Sports in Gros-Mécatina.

Finally, four other honourable mentions were given to the following organizations: Les Grands Amis de la Vallée in Amqui, La Bastide des Aînés in Rouyn-Noranda, Galerie de la Rive in Rockland and Comité ZIP Alma-Jonquière in Alma.

Since 1975, the Desjardins Annual Prizes, worth $5,000 each, has been rewarding and supporting the actions of organizations that make a difference in their communities through their innovative and original programs. To date, nearly $920,000 has been distributed among 163 organizations.

About Fondation Desjardins

As a component of Desjardins Group, the largest cooperative financial group in Canada, Fondation Desjardins fulfils its mission to provide educational support by distributing university scholarships and bursaries throughout Québec and Ontario for training, skills development and cooperative spirit. The foundation also hands out awards in recognition of volunteer activities and to support entrepreneurship and employment. In 2009, Fondation Desjardins will distribute nearly $650,000. In Québec, it is well known for distributing more university scholarships than any other private foundation in the province. Since its inception, the foundation has given away nearly $11 million dollars to support over 8,700 young people. To find out more, consult www.desjardins.com/en/fondation.

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Information (for journalists only):
Caroline Phémius
Advisor, Information and Media Relations
514-281-7000 or 1-866-866-7000, ext. 7646

Éliane Didier
Coordinator Fondation Desjardins
514-281-7170 or 1-800-443-8611