Join TELUS and help give $1 million to SickKids Hospital

TELUS will give $25 to SickKids for every new TELUS smartphone activated in Ontario from now until March 31 to support the 100,000 patients treated at SickKids annually

TORONTO, March 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its journey to improve the lives of Canadians through the power of technology, TELUS has committed $1 million to The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), in support of the $1.3 billion needed from philanthropy to fund a new, state-of-the-art facility in Toronto. Medical treatments and technology have come a long way and are continuing to evolve, making it more important than ever for SickKids to evolve to fully realize the possibilities in children’s health. This brand new SickKids will ensure Toronto remains a world-leader in paediatric health, as the new facility will transform research, learning and care with the best clinical spaces for patients, enable investment in science for groundbreaking treatments and cures, and will expand initiatives that build capacity at home and across the globe.

Helping today’s youth - particularly vulnerable youth - is a key tenet of TELUS’ overall commitment to giving back to the communities where TELUS team members and retirees live and work. Since 2000, TELUS team members and retirees have contributed more than $1.6 million to SickKids, including $317,000 given in 2018 alone.

“At TELUS, we are passionate about giving back to the community, and delighted to have the opportunity to partner with The Hospital for Sick Children,” said Jim Senko, President of Mobility Solutions at TELUS. “SickKids is a critical part of the GTA and the difference the facility and its dedicated staff make to youth and their families both here and around the world is incredible. It’s an honour to support their efforts as they continue working to change the future of children’s health.”

To keep the momentum going, TELUS will give $25 to SickKids for every new TELUS smartphone activated in Ontario, to a maximum donation of $50,000. In addition, TELUS crafted a new digital storybook, Bunny Goes to the Hospital, as a way of helping kids and their families feel more comfortable going to the hospital. The digital storybook is available for download at telus.com/sickkids. For every download of the digital storybook, TELUS will also give $25 to SickKids, to a maximum donation of $50,000.

“We rely on the community and are grateful to TELUS for their ongoing support,” said Seanna Millar, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Community Partnerships, SickKids Foundation. “We are in midst of the largest fundraising campaign in Canadian healthcare history and the funds raised will contribute to helping SickKids continue to deliver world-class care with cutting-edge operating suites, more room for families and more room for innovative technologies that will deliver better outcomes for our patients.”

For more information and to download the digital storybook, please visit telus.com/sickkids.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, with $14.4 billion of annual revenue and 13.4 million subscriber connections, including 9.2 million wireless subscribers, 1.9 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.2 million residential network access lines and 1.1 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment, video and home and business security. TELUS is also Canada's largest healthcare IT provider, and TELUS International delivers business process solutions around the globe.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed over $650 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 1.21 million days of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS’ 13 Canadian community boards and five International boards have led the Company’s support of grassroots charities and have contributed $72 million in support of 7,000 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. 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.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Saara Rahikka
TELUS Public Relations
saara.rahikka@telus.com