Scotiabank Charity Challenge sets new fundraising record

OTTAWA, May 28, 2017 /CNW/ - Under blue skies and dry weather, the 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed more than 43,000 participants in six races on Saturday and Sunday.

To celebrate Canada's 150^th anniversary, provincial and territorial flags and entertainment dotted the Marathon course, and jets from ACM Warbirds of Canada flew over the race courses on Saturday and Sunday. In addition this year, Race Weekend organizers introduced two new multi-distance events:

• The Lumberjack Challenge, with 150 participants running 2K, 5K, 10K and Marathon distances.
• The Voyageur Challenge, with 259 participants running 5K, 10K, Half-Marathon distances.

2017 registration figures

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge
Participants running for charitable causes have set a new milestone, raising $826,000 and counting. Through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, more than 1,800 participants running for one of 64 charities were able to join a high profile, turnkey fundraising initiative that directly supports local organizations.

List of charities involved in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

Quotes

"We are delighted with the turn-out and success of this year's Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend. As always, we greatly appreciate the generous support of our partners, the more than 2,500 volunteers who helped us in a variety of ways, and our many service providers. It was a fun and memorable way to celebrate Canada's 150^th anniversary.

John Halvorsen, President and Race Director of Run Ottawa

"We are thrilled to see such a record result for the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. This amazing fundraising result demonstrates how community involvement runs deep in the heart of Ottawa residents. On behalf of Scotiabank I want to thank all those who made their run more meaningful by giving back to their community through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge."

Carole Chapdelaine, Scotiabank's Senior Vice President,
Quebec and Eastern Ontario Region

About the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 
The 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed more than 43,000 participants in six races, including the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, the Scotiabank Half Marathon, the Ottawa 10K, the HTG Sports 5K, the Ottawa 2K and Scotiabank Ottawa Kids Marathon. Runners raised $826,000 and counting for 64 local and national charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge. 

The Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is one of only two running events in the world to host two IAAF Gold Label races: the Ottawa 10K and the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon. The 2017 Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend will take place on May 27-28, 2017. For more information or to register: www.runottawa.ca.

About Scotiabank
At Scotiabank, we aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people reach their full potential. Young people are our future leaders and Scotiabank's goal is to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and resources they need to support their success. Together with our employees, the Bank supports causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2016, Scotiabank contributed more than $70 million to help our communities around the world.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $887 billion (as at January 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank