MONTREAL, QC - April 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Over 5,000 runners will hit the pavement of Parc Jean Drapeau for the 14^th annual Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal et 5k on April 24. Many will be raising funds for one of the 66 charities associated with the 2016 Scotiabank Charity Challenge in Montreal, including the three local, featured charities:

• The Diabetic Children's Foundation
• Share the Warmth
• Huntington Society of Quebec

"Participants in this race share Scotiabank's commitment to giving back to their communities and we want to thank everyone for their fundraising efforts this year," said Carole Chapdelaine, Senior Vice President, Quebec/Eastern Ontario Region at Scotiabank. "Since 2003, our runners have raised over $46 million for community charities nationally and in 2016, together, we are racing to surpass the $50 million fundraising milestone."

Scotiabank offers a Scotiabank Charity Challenge at six sponsored marathon events across Canada including Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. 

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple way for runners in these races to support local causes that make a significant impact on Canadian communities. Participating charities keep 100% of the proceeds raised, as Scotiabank pays for all transaction and credit card fees.

"Good luck to the runners and walkers of Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal et 5k! It's wonderful to see so much support for local charities through the Scotiabank Charity Challenge," said Alan Brookes, Canada Running Series National Race Director. "Last year, 1,745 participants raised a remarkable $1,151,511 for 66 Montreal charities. They set the bar for Scotiabank's national Charity Challenge program, averaging $660 raised for each fundraising participant in the event. What a Challenge we have in store for this year!"

For a complete list of 2016 charities participating in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, please visit the Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal et 5k website.

Part of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a friendly competition between the charities for $24,750 in cash prizes consisting of $4,250 for 1^st place, $2,500 for 2^nd, and $1,500 for 3^rd in the following categories:

• The Official Charity that has the most fundraising runners.
• The Official Charity that raises the most fundraising dollars.
• The Official Charity that raises the largest amount of pledge dollars per fundraising runner.

How to get involved:

• Register for an event: Register for Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal et 5k on the event website.
• Fundraise: Once registered, sign up for the Scotiabank Charity Challenge and raise funds for a participating official charity.
• Share! Share your story behind why you support your charity, using #runScotia.
• Donate: Visit the Scotiabank Charity Challenge to select an official charity and make a one-time donation.
• Cheer: Support friends and family along the race route and as they cross the finish line. You can also show your support to runners online by using the hashtags #SCOTIA21KMTL and #runScotia.

About Scotiabank
Through our global community investment strategy, Scotiabank and its employees support causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2015, Scotiabank contributed $67 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 89,000 employees and assets of $920 billion (as at January 31, 2016), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

About Canada Running Series
Canada Running Series (CRS)] is the nation's premier running circuit with 8 events: 4 in Toronto, 3 in Vancouver and 1 in Montreal. It annually attracts some 60,000 participants and raises more than $5 million for some 250 mostly local charities. The Series includes the IAAF Gold Label Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and the Athletics Canada National Marathon Championships. Since 1999, CRS has gained international recognition for innovation and organization. It is strongly committed to staging great experiences for runners of all levels from Canadian Olympians and International stars, to healthy lifestyle people and charity runners, and to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process.