Vancouver
(British Columbia) May 25,
2012 – Virgin
Mobile Canada and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group,
announced today that they’ll be donating funds to the Broadway Youth Resource
Centre (BYRC) and Project Limelight Society in Vancouver. Raised from the
proceeds of the Virgin Mobile’s 2011 RE*Generation phone, each recipient will
be able to make new skill-building programs and services available for at-risk
youth in Vancouver.
Arriving in Vancouver to announce the charitable initiatives
were Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and Cory Monteith,
Virgin Unite ambassador and star of the hit TV show Glee. The grants,
valued at $26,550 for Project Limelight Society and $25,000 for BYRC, were
presented in Vancouver at Project Limelight Society’s brand new venue on East
Georgia Street.
“I love finding any excuse to come back to Vancouver, especially when I
have an opportunity to work with Richard to help at-risk youth,” says Cory
Monteith. “By teaming up with Virgin Unite and the RE*Generation movement,
we’re finding real ways to end youth homelessness – especially in Vancouver
where the need is so great.”
“Whether
it’s youth homelessness or at-risk youth, a single program can ignite a spark
for change,” says Sir Richard Branson. “A year after Cory and I introduced the
RE*Generation phone, Virgin Mobile customers have helped raise the funds to
make promising progress. With 65,000 youth who don’t have a place to call home each
night across Canada, organizations like Project Limelight and Broadway Youth
Resource Centre are urgently needed to create new possibilities for youth to
access resources and services that normally wouldn’t be available to them.”
A Place To Call Home
Part of a brand new
partnership with Virgin Unite, Project Limelight Society is a free theatre
development charity that inspires youth to awaken their imagination and
creativity within the arts. The Vancouver-based program gives youth the skills
to discover new talents while developing the confidence to make lasting
decisions for the future. As a grant recipient, Project Limelight Society will
use their $26,550 donation to support their year-round performing arts program,
ongoing theatre workshops and a food security program in their local community.
“The performing arts
provide a creative outlet which benefits young people in all aspects of their
lives,” says Maureen Webb, co-founder, Project Limelight Society. “Performing
on stage and bringing a character to life takes confidence, self-esteem and
courage – strengths developed at Project Limelight! Thanks to this generous
grant from Virgin Unite and RE*Generation, we can continue to provide and
mentor young people in our community with the skills they’ll need for all of
life’s decisions.”
For more details about Project Limelight Society, head to
www.projectlimelightsociety.org.
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| Cory Monteith and Sir Richard Branson and kids from Project Limelight |
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| Cory Monteith and Sir Richard Branson and kids from Project Limelight
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| Cory Monteith and Sir Richard Branson and kids from Project Limelight
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| Cory Monteith and Sir Richard Branson and kids from Project Limelight
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| Cory Monteith |
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| Cory Monteith |
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| Cory Montieth |
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| Cory Monteith |
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| Sir Richard Branson |
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| Kids from Project Limelight |
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| Cory Monteith, Sir Richard Branson and Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson and kids from Project Limelight
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| Cory Monteith, Sir Richard Branson and Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson and kids from Project Limelight
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| Cory Monteith, Sir Richard Branson and Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson and kids from Project Limelight
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Serving The Community
Located in the heart of Vancouver, Broadway Youth Resource
Centre has been giving young people the chance to learn and develop new life
skills since 1999. From health to housing services and everything in
between, BYRC has continued to be a flagship multi-agency organization for
homeless and at-risk youth in Vancouver. Utilizing their $25,000 grant, the
organization will be able to create warm and welcoming Resource Room that will
allow homeless youth to access a wide range of services that will help them
gain knowledge, skills and confidence needed to create a better life for
themselves.
“At Broadway Youth Resource Centre, we aim to provide a
one-stop centre to all at-risk and homeless youth in Vancouver,” says Jocelyn
Helland, manager, Broadway Youth Resource Centre. “Education, employment skills
and counselling are just some of the services we can offer and with this
RE*Generation grant, we’ll be able to continue providing further programs to
youth between the ages of 12 and 24.”
Creating A Force For Good
The two grants presented today were generated by funds raised
from the sales of Virgin Mobile’s limited edition Samsung Gravity 3
RE*Generation phone. Fifteen dollars from the sale of each phone, which
was introduced by Branson and Monteith in Montréal last year, was donated back
to the RE*Generation Movement by Virgin Mobile and Samsung.
“The impact we can make in the
community through partnerships like this are all thanks to the involvement of
our Members who have told us time and again how it feels good to do good,” says Andrew Bridge, managing
director, Virgin Mobile Canada. “As part of RE*Generation, Virgin Mobile
has launched several fundraising programs that have helped in our fight against
youth homelessness. Programs like Change For A Dollar, A-list benefit concerts
and releasing RE*Generation phones have raised more than $1.5 million for
at-risk youth programs since 2008. We want to congratulate these fantastic
organizations and our Members for helping to make such an amazing difference.”
For both Members and non-Members, Canadians can help support
the RE*Generation and do some good with three simple steps:
1. Change
For A Dollar: Virgin Mobile Members can add $1 to their mobile phone bill
each month. The monthly dollar will then be directly donated to Virgin Unite
and the RE*Generation movement
2. Text
To Donate: Canadians can donate $5 to Virgin Unite and RE*Generation by
texting REGEN to 30333
3.
Sign
The Petition: We’re asking Parliament to recognize November 17
th
as National Youth Homelessness Awareness Day (NYHAD). Head to
virginmobile.ca/regen to add your
name to our online petition and help make NYHAD a reality!
To learn more about how
you can get involved with Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation, head to
www.virginmobile.ca/regen.
Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation Movement
In early
2008, Virgin Mobile Canada and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the
Virgin group of companies, joined together to create the RE*Generation movement
and empower a generation to help its own. We're bringing together
organizations that care about Canada's homeless and at-risk youth and we're
connecting them with people who want to help. RE*Generation is a movement to
support solutions to youth homelessness and support at-risk youth programs in
Canada. To date, over $1.5 million
has been raised and dispersed to leading youth serving agencies across the
country. The RE*Generation movement is working with a number of Canadian
charitable partners to help get kids off the streets and onto a path for a
brighter future. For more information visit http://www.virginunite.com or go to www.virginmobile.ca/regen to sign up and join the movement.
About Virgin
Mobile Canada
Virgin Mobile
Canada rewards, entertains and connects like no one else, delivering the
hottest phones on the hottest 4G network. Virgin Mobile Members also get
exclusive VIP access and deals and award-winning service. 91% of Members would
also recommend Virgin Mobile to a friend.
The Virgin Mobile
group of companies has attracted more than 15 million customers
worldwide. Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 4,000
locations nationally including The Source, Virgin Mobile retail locations and
additional retail partners. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online
at www.virginmobile.ca or by calling
1-888-999-2321. Get personal with Virgin Mobile Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/virginmobilecan and Twitter at twitter.com/virginmobilecan.
About Virgin
Unite
Virgin
Unite is the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. We unite people to
tackle tough social and environmental problems in an entrepreneurial way. Our
aim is to help revolutionize the way businesses, government and the social
sector work together – driving business as a force for good. This is
based on the belief that this is the only way we can tackle the scale and
urgency of the challenges facing the world today. Virgin Unite’s overheads are
covered by Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group, meaning that 100% of
additional donations received go direct to the frontline where they are needed
most. For more information please visit www.virginunite.com.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/virginunite
and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/virginunite.
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Cory Montieth waving to Maureen Webb
follow me on Twitter at OLTV |
