Canada: Molson boosts employee volunteerism through its new 'MVP' community support initiative

Molson Canada announced on April 20 the launch of a new program to actively support its employees' contributions to volunteering and charities in an early kick-off to National Volunteer Week, April 23-29.

Beginning April 20, all Molson employees will be eligible for a paid day off work to participate in team-based volunteer activity, as part of the new Molson Volunteer Program (MVP).

To celebrate the launch of MVP, a team of Molson employees will participate in Mayor David Miller's annual community clean-up initiative on Friday, April 21 at 2:00 p.m. The Molson employees will be cleaning up Centennial Park in Etobicoke (56 Centennial Park Road, between Rathburn Dr. and Eglinton Ave).

Several other regional projects will be undertaken by Molson employees across Canada. MVP was designed to broaden the company's commitment to communities and is based on input from employees voicing the importance of volunteerism.

"Our employees strongly believe in contributing to their community and this is a tangible way for us to support their efforts," says Kevin Boyce, Molson Canada President and CEO. "We are thrilled to strengthen our commitment to communities from coast-to-coast and play a part in our employees' volunteer activities by providing them with a little extra time to spend towards charitable giving."

Employees are encouraged to volunteer in groups of 10. With more than 3,100 employees across Canada, the program has the potential to contribute over 25,000 volunteer hours and an equivalent economic value of $800,000, as calculated using Imagine Canada's corporate community investment formula.

"Employer-supported volunteer initiatives, like the Molson Volunteer Program, are critical for our communities. By giving its employees the time to contribute to charities, Molson is paving the way for people to become engaged in voluntary activities and affect positive change," says Marlene Deboisbriand, President of Volunteer Canada. "It's great to see Molson demonstrate support of volunteer activities with this program and to have the commitment of Mr. Boyce, a member of our Corporate Council on Volunteering."

The goal of the Council is to develop and foster a peer-to-peer corporate campaign that encourages and enables volunteerism, and promotes civic participation.

The Molson Volunteer Program is one more example of Canada's leading brewer's long-standing commitment to communities. Molson further supports the charitable contributions of its employees through its Matching Gifts program whereby the company matches employee donations to charitable organizations and doubles the donation for employees who play a leadership role within a charity. Since the Matching Gifts program began in 1993, Molson has matched over $2 million in employee contributions to charities in communities across Canada.

About Molson Canada

With roots dating back to 1786 and a time-honoured tradition of brewing quality beers, Molson Canada is proud to be the nation's preferred brewer. The company proudly offers the most popular brands in Canada with an award-winning brand portfolio which includes Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Molson Export, Molson Dry and Rickard's. Molson Canada also partners with other leading brewers to offer such global brands as Heineken, Corona, Miller Genuine Draft and Foster's Lager. Molson operates six breweries, including the boutique brewery Creemore, and invests in communities from coast-to-coast through its various charitable initiatives and sports and entertainment sponsorships. Molson Canada is part of the Molson Coors Brewing Company.

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