Bank also announces winners of inaugural Scotiabank Group Charity
    Challenge

    VANCOUVER, July 31 /CNW/ - Scotiabank announced today that a
record-breaking total of $216,764 was raised by more than 4,600 participants
at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k, on June 24, 2007. A new
individual fundraising record was also set.
    Winners of the Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge were also announced.
Six healthcare related charities vied for top honours in three categories: the
charity with the most runners (raising $10 or more); the charity that raised
the most money per runner and the charity that raised the most pledges. The
category winners were all awarded with $5,000 prizes. The funds generated by
the inaugural Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge are more than double last
year's total of $102,000.

    The winners of three $5,000 prizes were:

    Most pledges raised: VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, $64,604.53
    Most runners (raising $10 or more): BC Children's Hospital Foundation,
    196 runners
    Most money raised per participant: The Arthritis Society, B.C. and Yukon
    Division, 20 runners, average raised $1,485.62

    "The Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge is another way that Scotiabank
helps support local causes in our community," said David Poole, Scotiabank's
Senior Vice-President, B.C. & Yukon Region. "The first charity challenge was a
great opportunity for us to highlight six respected healthcare related
organizations. We are thrilled with this year's success and want to thank all
of the participants who ran or walked for the sake of others and raised funds.
We look forward to raising even more money next year."
    The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k is part of the prestigious
Canada Running Series. Growing in annual popularity, it is also a highly
successful fundraising event, with funds benefiting VGH & UBC Hospital
Foundation; The Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division; BC Children's
Hospital Foundation; The Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. & Yukon; Rick
Hansen Foundation and St. Paul's Hospital Foundation. The Scotiabank Vancouver
Half-Marathon & 5k has now raised more than $746,000 in its nine-year history.
    The top individual fundraising award, the Scotiabank Group Charity
Challenge Award, and $2,000 prize, was presented to Vancouver's David Porte.
Porte's daughter was recently diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, a painful
auto-immune disease that affects one in 1,000 children, making it one of the
most common chronic childhood diseases. Determined to do what he could to help
his daughter and the hundreds of children with arthritis in B.C., Porte signed
up for the 5k and set an individual record, raising more than $36,900 for The
Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division.
    Rounding out the top three individual fundraisers were Tirth Kular and
Ajaib Mann. Kular's charity of choice was the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation
and she raised $4,570 in support of the Dr. Patty Clugston Chair in Breast
Reconstruction Surgery. The late Dr. Patty Clugston, a talented pioneering
plastic surgeon, founded the Breast Reconstruction Program at UBC Hospital 11
years ago. The program enables women who are undergoing a mastectomy to also
have immediate breast reconstruction surgery. Kular, a Personal Banking
Manager at Scotiabank's King George and 102 branch, has raised more than
$24,400 for the foundation over the past three events. Mann raised more than
$2,600 for BC Children's Hospital Foundation.

    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, in 2006 the Bank provided more than $42 million in sponsorships
and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas
of healthcare, education and social services. Scotiabank is on the World Wide
Web at www.scotiabank.com.