News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO and CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--(Marketwired - June 7, 2013) -

Editors Note: There are two photos associated with this press release.

More than 5,600 BMO employees in communities across Canada and the U.S. have rolled up their sleeves over the past week in support of BMO Volunteer Day - the equivalent of one person volunteering full time for more than eleven years.

BMO Volunteer Day provides opportunities for the bank's employees to participate in charitable work and projects during business hours. It encompasses more than 470 projects in communities across Canada and the U.S., including children and youth organizations, elder care, food banks, community housing and health care facilities, family resource centres, parks and recreational facilities, supporting military personnel overseas, relief organizations and homeless shelters.

"BMO Volunteer Day has given thousands of our employees the opportunity to give back to the communities where we live and work," said Eric Tripp, President, BMO Capital Markets. "It is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to make meaningful investments in our neighbourhoods, towns and regions."

Mr. Tripp also called on other companies to provide the opportunity for their employees to volunteer. "I challenge all Canadian companies that haven't yet taken this important step: Support your employees. Let them have the chance to go into the community and do good. Let them have the opportunity to help build the society we all believe in."

BMO Volunteer Day Projects included:

• BMO volunteers read with students in their classrooms following a reading by local children's author Frank Viva at Rose Avenue Junior Public School in Toronto.
• At Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, BMO Harris Bank President & CEO Mark Furlong and employee volunteers helped beautify the landscape, plant shrubs and paint the fence surrounding the NHS garden.
• BMO volunteers helped sand and paint trim, bend aluminium siding and plant victory gardens at the Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity warehouse.
• BMO employees in Regina helped package fresh fruits and vegetables for Good Food Boxes at Regina Education & Action on Child Hunger in Regina.
• At the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Madison, BMO volunteers hauled brush, mulched trails and planted trees.
• BMO volunteers in St. John's brought their culinary talents to bear as they prepared meals for resident families at Ronald McDonald House and assisted in food sorting at the Community Food Sharing Association.
• BMO volunteers in Calgary helped clean up Wood's Homes' grounds by planting shrubs and painting to revitalize the grounds for the organization's upcoming celebration of 100 years of service to children and their families.

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 $555 billion as at April 30, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

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