TORONTO, ON - June 03, 2016 /CNW/ -  To celebrate Pride Month, and its ongoing commitment of the LGBT+ community, Scotiabank is donating $250,000 in support of the Egale Centre, a new facility that will be exclusively dedicated to assisting homeless LGBT+ youth.

"Scotiabank is a proud partner of the LGBT+ community and to support Egale's vision of creating a world that allows every person to achieve their full potential, free from hatred and bias," said Marianne Hasold-Schilter, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, International Banking, and Executive Champion, Scotiabank Pride. "We believe it's important to invest in young people today so they are safe and have the necessary support to succeed in life, and take a stand against homophobia, transphobia and harassment in our communities."

Scotiabank's donation will help fund the Egale Centre -- with construction beginning Fall of 2017 -- and the delivery of programs. When the Centre opens, it will be Canada's first and Toronto's only facility to deliver counselling services and transitional and emergency housing that is exclusively dedicated to serving homeless LGBT+ youth.

"It is tremendously exciting to have Scotiabank's support of Egale Centre," said Helen Kennedy, Executive Director, Egale Human Rights Trust. "This is a one-of-a-kind project that will fundamentally transform and improve the support services available to LGBTQI2S youth in Toronto. On behalf of Egale, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude and appreciation to Scotiabank for their contribution to this important project."

In addition to this donation, Scotiabank has provided nearly two million dollars over the last five years to organizations that support the LGBT+ community in Canada, including:

• Out on Bay Street;
• Pride at Work Canada;
• Pride Connection Mexico;
• You Can Play;
• Canadian Aids Society - Scotiabank Aids Walk; and
• Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity.

The announcement was made at Scotiabank's Pride Month celebration event held today outside Scotia Plaza, where customers and employees enjoyed music, popsicles and more.

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 $895 billion (as at April 30, 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.