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Baycrest & Scotiabank team up for innovative approach to fundraising

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Baycrest Foundation launches new app to kick start mobile giving strategy in leading the fight against Alzheimer’s

Toronto, April 23, 2012 – As part of its ongoing commitment to support Baycrest innovations, the Baycrest Foundation announced today the launch of a new app in support of its highly popular Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimer’s hockey tournaments. The app, available on both Android and iPhone, allows players registered in the tournament to fundraise for the Scotiabank Pro-Am on the go from the touch of their smartphone screen and is available as a free download on iTunes and Google Play.

“The launch of this app marks an exciting new direction as we begin to roll out our mobile giving strategy at the Foundation,” said Susan Sutton, President, Baycrest Foundation and Vice President, Global Institutional Advancement at Baycrest.

The Scotiabank Pro-Am app supports a player’s mobile giving strategy by allowing the player to reach out to existing contacts via direct email. The app also connects with a player’s Facebook and Twitter profiles, encouraging social giving.  It is simple and easy to use and gives a donor options for donating and sharing the act of giving using their social networks. The app supports the upcoming Toronto and Vancouver Pro-Am as well as 2013 events across the country. New registrants can use the app for games in either season.

“The app gives players the opportunity to share their participation socially amongst their networks,” said Sutton. “Players already use Facebook and Twitter to keep up with their friends and family — now they can use our app to help share a cause that’s important to them as well.”

The Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimer’s is an innovative fundraiser that offers amateur hockey players the chance to play with and against a host of NHL alumni while raising critical funds for Alzheimer’s research and care at Baycrest and has raised more than $16 million in its six-year history. Teams must raise a minimum of $25,000, and the teams that raise the most funds get to draft an NHL alumnus to play on their team.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Gordie & Colleen Howe Fund for Alzheimer’s, which is named in tribute to Gordie and in loving memory of his wife Colleen who passed away from Pick’s disease, a form of dementia, in March 2009. The Howe Fund supports care and research in Alzheimer’s and related dementias at Baycrest and the work of the Alzheimer’s Society in Alberta and Northwest Territories.

About Baycrest
Baycrest is unique in the world in combining a comprehensive system of care for aging patients; one of the world’s top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience; dedicated centres focused on mitigating the impact of age-related illness and impairment; and unmatched global knowledge exchange and commercialization capacity. For more information about Baycrest, visit www.baycrest.org.

About the Gordie & Colleen Howe Fund for Alzheimer’s
Gordie & Colleen Howe’s contribution to hockey is legendary, earning them the title Mr. and Mrs. HockeyTM. When Colleen lost her battle with dementia in March of 2009, Gordie lost a wife, his children lost a mother and the world of hockey lost a champion. It was a battle that inspired the Howe family to improve the lives of others affected by the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. In pursuit of this mission, they have attached their name to the Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimer’s.

About Scotiabank
As the Official Bank of the NHL®, NHLPA®, NHL AlumniTM and the CWHL, Scotiabank is very proud to be Canada’s Hockey Bank. Scotiabank has a long tradition of supporting hockey in Canada from local teams and minor hockey associations to professional players and leagues. Through its partnerships, Scotiabank’s hockey programs enrich the communities where Canadians live and work by engaging fans and players in new ways to celebrate our game. Scotiabank supports the passion and pride Canadians feel for hockey and believes it is fundamental to helping young people learn about teamwork, camaraderie and the spirit of competition. Scotiabank’s partnership with Pro Hockey Life provides exclusive in-store and online discounts to the Bank’s customers, promotes advice on equipment and enhances the grassroots community programs of both companies. Scotiabank also has partnerships with the Montreal Canadiens®, the Calgary Flames® whose home arena is the Scotiabank Saddledome, and the Ottawa Senators® whose home arena is Scotiabank Place.

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $44 million annually to community causes around the world over the last 5 years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com

Media Contacts:

For the Scotiabank Pro-Am and Baycrest:

Corinne Rusch-Drutz | Director of Digital & Emerging Platforms | Baycrest Foundation cruschdrutz@baycrest.org | 416-785-2500 ext. 2011

Tiffany Astle | tiffany@penelopepr.com | 416-554-7329

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