Wave of support for water travels the globe
Today, RBC will celebrate its second annual RBC Blue Water Day with a wave of activities in cities around the world to raise awareness about the value and vulnerability of freshwater. RBC employees, clients and RBC Blue Water Project grant recipients will join the wave of support in two national capitals and beyond. In addition, for every person who ‘likes’ the RBC Blue Water Project page and Joins the Wave on Facebook, RBC will donate $1 to the World Wildlife Fund for its water programs, up to a maximum of $100,000. A short list of RBC Blue Water Day events includes:
Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geographic magazine will unveil Canada’s first comprehensive, interactive map of Canada’s 582 watersheds, with an online tool filled with information, funded by the RBC Blue Water Project. The map
(www.canadiangeographic.ca/watersheds/map) will be launched at a morning event at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Washington, D.C.: RBC will host Alexandra Cousteau for an evening event at the Canadian Embassy to premiere two short films about North American rivers, produced while on her Blue Expedition Tour in 2010, sponsored by the RBC Blue Water Project.
Toronto, Ontario: Just in time for summer, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and RBC are officially launching The Swim Guide
(http://www.theswimguide.org/), the first interactive app to provide comprehensive information about clean, safe beaches for swimming in Ontario, funded by the RBC Blue Water Project. RBC employees in the downtown core will also attempt to create the biggest blue wave of support for water at Pecaut Square (next to Metro Hall) at 11:45 a.m. The public is invited to join the wave as well.
Calgary, Alberta: RBC will announce a $250,000 grant to the Athabasca University to support the community engagement program at the Athabasca River Basin Research Institution.
Winnipeg, Manitoba: RBC will celebrate a $200,000 RBC Blue Water Project grant given to the Manitoba Museum to create the Lake Winnipeg Basin Ecosystem Challenge, a state-of-the-art educational experience. In addition, RBC will present a $40,000 grant to the Lake Winnipeg Foundation to support its Sensitive Habitat Inventory Mapping project.
Montreal, Quebec: Clients and employees will participate in the St. Lawrence Day of Action, presented by the David Suzuki Foundation, an RBC Blue Water Grant recipient to help raise awareness and protect the river (davidsuzuki.org/fr/st-laurent). Funded by the RBC Blue Water Project, RBC also invites people to experience CYCLO, an interactive installation about the journey of water, created by ONE DROP at 1 Place Ville Marie in Montreal.
Atlantic Canada: Branch staff across the region will celebrate seven RBC Blue Water action grants that support water initiatives in their communities.
New York, New York: Leading up to Blue Water Day, RBC employees cleaned up a beach with the New York/New Jersey BayKeepers in Hastings-On-Hudson, New York; cleared water chestnuts from Mill Pond in Oyster Bay, New York with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife services; and removed invasive species from The Great Swamp Watershed in New Jersey.
Charlotte, North Carolina: RBC Bank employees will participate in a Clean Water project at Freedom Park by helping to restore and preserve a damaged area of the Little Sugar Creek watershed.
Caribbean: RBC employees in Trinidad, Jamaica and Bahamas will celebrate RBC Blue Water Day by reducing their home water use with a quick, easy idea – inserting a 20 ounce bottle into their toilet tank to decrease the volume in the tank. In addition, a water education workshop will be held for more than 100 primary school students in the Bahamas.
Next week, at the Canadian Water Summit, RBC will also be announcing a partnership with the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation and the Canadian Water Network in a project that will outline the role water plays in the Canadian economy.
The RBC Blue Water Project is a 10-year, $50 million philanthropic commitment to supporting organizations that protect watersheds and ensure access to clean drinking water in Canada and abroad. Since 2007, RBC has committed more than $28 million in single and multi-year grants to over 400 organizations.
For further information:
Media contact:
Jackie Braden, Sponsorship Communications, (416) 974-1724, [email protected]
For more information on the RBC Blue Water Project, visit www.rbc.com/bluewater
