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Community investment

We give where we live

Through TELUS' community investment philosophy - we give where we live - the company is creating a legacy of giving based on innovation and a passion to help build healthier communities. Our efforts focus on arts and culture, education and sport, and health and well-being in our environment, in ways that support youth and showcase technology.

Giving locally to grassroots charities

TELUS Community Boards bring together influential community leaders and TELUS team members to provide funding to local grassroots charities. This innovative approach delegates funding decisions to the local level to help ensure our support will have the most impact.

Nine TELUS Community Boards are located across Canada in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Rimouski and Atlantic Canada. In 2010, TELUS Community Boards allocated $4.1 million to local charities and nonprofit organizations and supported more than 300 projects. Since their inception, TELUS Community Boards have allocated $25 million to local charities and non-profit organizations and supported close to 1,900 community projects nationwide.

We also have eight TELUS Community Action Teams, which, in 2010, donated $236,000 and supported more than 80 grassroots projects in smaller communities.

2010 TELUS day of giving

15,950
meals prepared and served to those in need
139,560
ribbons tied for Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
2,600
trees, plants and shrubs planted in parks and gardens
7,860
Kits for Kids assembled to provide supplies to students in need

Rolling up our sleeves to pitch in

The fifth annual TELUS Day of Giving took place across Canada in May with a record 10,400 team members, retirees, family and friends coming together to participate in over 175 activities. Since 2006, over 41,000 volunteers have been mobilized at 950 TELUS-organized activities on this special day.

Internationally, the TELUS Day of Giving took place in Manila, Philippines and at TELUS International locations in Central America, with 4,200 team members, family and friends participating.

The TELUS Community Ambassadors include more than 2,300 retirees and team members who volunteer their time to deliver numerous community programs and care items to people in need. Ambassadors from the 20 clubs across Canada contributed more than 60,000 care items in 2010, including backpacks filled with school supplies, heart pillows and comfort bears for recovering patients, and baby bags filled with essential infant care items.

Making a difference through giving

TELUS continues to be an Imagine Caring Company, donating more than one per cent of our pre-tax profits to charitable organizations each year.

Through the Team TELUS Charitable Giving program, team members, retirees, board members and retail dealers donate funds to the Canadian charities they care most about, which TELUS then matches dollar for dollar. In 2010, we donated $7.2 million through this program to more than 2,800 charities.

The Dollars for Doers program recognizes the volunteer efforts of our team members and retirees with a donation to a charity of their choice when they volunteer more than 50 hours in a year. In 2010, more than 5,760 team members and retirees donated over 550,000 hours of their personal time, resulting in TELUS donating $850,000 to Canadian charities.

The 2010 TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes took place in over 70 communities across the country. More than 3,750 team members, retirees, family and friends participated in 47 communities and raised $435,000. Overall, 45,000 Canadians joined the 2010 Walk and raised $7.5 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Being socially responsible

At TELUS, we understand there is a symbiotic relationship between the success of our company and the health of our communities. We are a company that measures success by more than just profitable returns. This is why our triple bottom line approach, incorporating economic, social and environmental aspects, is embedded in the culture of our company.

Through the year, we look for ways to align our business with our corporate philanthropy by providing customers with the opportunity to help their community when they make a purchase from TELUS.

For example, with our Go Pink campaign, for every pink BlackBerry device sold from May to December 2010, we donated $25 to regional hospitals across the country for the purchase of new digital mammography equipment. The campaign raised more than $2 million to assist in the early detection of breast cancer and also inspired over 800,000 people to turn their Facebook profile picture pink. The campaign directly connects our marketing efforts with local social outcomes, and enhances our brand appeal and emotional connection with customers.

In 2010, TELUS was named the most outstanding philanthropic company globally by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Team members pitched in
on the TELUS Day of Giving.

Monty Carter, president of Enterprise Solutions, prepared food hampers at the Calgary Food Bank Ryan Lowe, team manager of Small and Medium Business Client Loyalty and Retention, helped with landscaping at the North York YMCA Allison Vale, senior marketing communications manager, and her mother, Christine Vale, sorted food at the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto.
Monty Carter, president of Enterprise Solutions, prepared food hampers at the Calgary Food Bank
In 2010, TELUS, our team members and retirees contributed $37.5 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 550,000 hours to local communities. Charitable organizations can apply for funding at telus.com/community. For the complete CSR story visit telus.com/csr.