News Releases
Kids Help Phone launched its first-ever major gift campaign at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre earlier today with the announcement of a $2 million donation by BMO Financial Group.
In addition to the gift by BMO Financial Group, The Futures Campaign has already received support from various donors including another lead gift of $750,000 from Rob and Ruth Peters and family of Calgary, AB, bringing Kids Help Phone more than 50 per cent of the way to its goal of raising the $7.5 million necessary to ensure the service can sustain current operations while planning for future growth.
“We are thrilled at the generous show of support we have received for The Futures Campaign,” said Tom McAllister, President & CEO, Kids Help Phone. “The investment by BMO Financial Group, the Peters family and our other generous supporters will help ensure that we maintain and enhance our relevancy to children as they continue to embrace web-based communication.”
Funds raised by The Futures Campaign are being earmarked by Kids Help Phone for investment in:
- Increasing counselling resources: Kids Help Phone uses only professional counsellors on their phone and online services;
- Virtual infrastructure: enhancements to their website, the development of an electronic training system for counselling staff and a knowledge management system to provide ready access to key information in the service's two bilingual counselling centres;
- Research and public education on kids' issues and
- Organizational sustainability.
“Last year, Kids Help Phone helped kids more than 1.5 million times, yet the demand continues to increase. Too many children remain at risk because we do not have the web site capability to meet the demand from young kids who communicate primarily in the web world,” said Graham Parsons, EVP, Global Private Banking, BMO Financial Group, and National Chair of the Futures Campaign.
“The gift from BMO Financial Group, in combination with the generous donations from our other Futures Campaign supporters, means that Kids Help Phone is well on its ways to meeting its goal of raising $7.5 million,” added Parsons.
“BMO employees across Canada support Kids Help Phone by fundraising and volunteering time,” said Bill Downe, President and C.E.O. of BMO Financial Group. “Kids Help Phone services are important for our communities and it is satisfying for us to know that BMO's lead donation will help ensure that Kids Help Phone can connect with the growing number of children, who might otherwise fall through the cracks without that support.”
For more information about Kids Help Phone and The Futures Campaign, please visit www.kidshelpphone.ca.
About Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone is Canada's only toll-free, 24-hour, bilingual and anonymous phone and web counselling, referral and information service for children and youth. Every day, professional counsellors provide immediate, caring support to young people in urban and rural communities across the country. Kids contact Kids Help Phone about every issue imaginable – from school, dating and family problems, to depression, abuse and suicide. In 2006, Kids Help Phone helped young people in need from almost 3,000 Canadian communities more than 1.5 million times through its phone and online services.
About BMO Financial Group:
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $359 billion as at July 31, 2007, and more than 35,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.
As a founding sponsor of Kids Help Phone, BMO has been supporting the critical efforts of this organization since its inception and, through BMO's extensive network of employee volunteers, provides leadership support for chapters of Kids Help Phone from coast to coast. In 2006 alone, corporate sponsorship and employee support totalled over $840M. This includes $198M raised from the BMO Golf-a-thon, almost $198M raised in employee pledges through the Kids Help Phone Boo-la-thons (bowling tournaments), and $200M annual sponsorship for Kids Help Phone's Student Ambassador Program.
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Bill Downe, President & CEO, BMO Financial Group presents Honourary Campaign Co-Chair Jann Arden, Tom McAllister, President & CEO, Kids Help Phone, and Graham Parsons, The Futures Campaign National Campaign Chair with a cheque for $2 million at the launch of Kids Help Phone's first-ever major gift campaign.
