News Releases

Royal Victoria Hospital announced that it is receiving an extra $125,000 contribution from BMO Bank of Montreal that will help to build the Simcoe-Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre. This is the latest in a series of pledges that BMO and its affiliated divisions have made in support of the hospital building campaign and brings the total amount of money BMO has raised and pledged to more than $725,000.

BMO's third donation– $125,000 – was announced today by BMO Mosaik MasterCard and the Barrie BMO Bank of Montreal branch. The donation amount was based on the number of approved BMO Mosaik MasterCard applications that branch staff processed during May 2007 through to the end of October 2007. BMO also delivered the first installment of $50,000, from its $500,000 pledge, in a cheque presentation event hosted today by BMO.

In 2005, BMO Financial Group pledged $500,000 to help kick off the hospital campaign. That pledge was followed by a $100,000 donation of funds raised by BMO's Barrie branch when it completed the “I Believe” blue wristband campaign in April 2007.

"We are proud of the money raised for the RVH through our BMO Mosaik MasterCard initiative which provided a fast and simple approach to raising funds for the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre," says Frank Berdan, District Vice-President for BMO Bank of Montreal. “It is great to see the community support that this campaign has generated simply by applying and using BMO's feature-rich credit card.”

Under the BMO Mosaik MasterCard program, BMO donated between $100 and $125 to the hospital for every new Mosaik MasterCard that a customer activated and used. The program, which ran for a six-month period, was the latest initiative in BMO Bank of Montreal's long history of outstanding support for Royal Victoria Hospital.

"BMO Bank of Montreal has been a leader in its support for the hospital and for our “I Believe” campaign to raise funds for the expansion and new Cancer Centre,” says David Blenkarn, chair of both the RVH Foundation and its capital campaign. “We are extremely pleased with the results of the initiative which generated significant funds for the hospital but also tremendous goodwill within the community.”

In 2007, BMO contributed $42.6 million in corporate donations, sponsorships and events, supporting communities and thousands of charities and not-for-profit organizations across Canada.

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Left to right

David Blenkarn -  Chair, RVH Foundation
Frank Berdan - Vice-President, Northern Ontario District
Susan Markus - Personal Banking Area Manager
Janice Skot - President and CEO, RVH
Hilary Woods - Senior Manager, Card & Retail Payment Services
Scott Elliot - Chair, RVH Board of Directors