Donating $2,500 to Inuvik's Community Garden Society for food production
    programs at the 4,000 square-foot Community Greenhouse

    INUVIK, NT, July 18 /CNW/ - CIBC showed its appreciation to its clients
this week with an open house and giveaways throughout the day as part of the
50th anniversary celebrations of the Inuvik branch at 134 Mackenzie Rd. Today,
CIBC has the largest branch network in Canada's far north with five locations
in the Northwest Territories, two locations in Nunavut, and three in the
Yukon.
    To mark the anniversary, CIBC presented the Community Garden Society of
Inuvik with a cheque for $2,500 to support food production programs at the
Inuvik Community Greenhouse. In the last 10 years, the Greenhouse has provided
the ideal community gardening solution for Inuvik residents and organizations,
such as the Inuvik Food Bank, Inuvik Youth Centre, and the Child Development
Centre, to grow their own food on a small scale.
    "We are very fortunate to have CIBC in our community supporting the
charitable sector," said Lucy Kuptana of the Inuvik Community Garden Society.
"Their financial support to the Society is yet another example of their
interest in enhancing lives in our community."
    "It has been an honour and a privilege to provide financial services to
our clients since 1958," said Barb Deslauriers, branch manager of CIBC Inuvik
since 2002 and a 25-year veteran of the bank. "CIBC believes in giving back to
the communities where we live and work. We are proud of the role played by the
bank and our employees in supporting community organizations that serve Inuvik
and the whole MacKenzie Delta area. It is our pleasure to make this donation
today to the Community Garden Society of Inuvik."
    "The Youth Centre and the Child Development Centre use the Greenhouse to
teach children about growing vegetables, composting, and eating right," added
Kuptana. "The children get to take home the vegetables that they grow. The
Greenhouse also has a Kids Club every Saturday in which the kids do arts and
crafts and learn about gardening and composting, which teaches them the
importance of healthy living."
    CIBC in Inuvik also has been a supporter of other community activities
and organizations, including the Northern Arts Festival, the Youth Centre, the
Midnight Sun Rec Centre, and Arctic College.
    It was in 1958 that the Canadian Bank of Commerce opened its doors for
business in what was initially known as Aklavik East Three, more than 200 kms
north of the Arctic Circle, making it the northern-most bank branch in North
America. The community was renamed Inuvik that same year. On June 1, 1961, the
branch was re-branded to CIBC when the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the
Imperial Bank of Canada merged to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
    Recognizing the need for greater financial services in Canada's north,
CIBC introduced the first Flying Bank in North America in 1970 to serve
isolated communities in the Northwest Territories. The DC3 left Yellowknife
once a month and covered more than 2,500 kilometers with stops in Lady
Franklin Point, Cambridge Bay, Coppermine and Port Radium before returning
12 hours later. A second Flying Bank staffed by the Inuvik branch was added on
July 6, 1971. Once a month, Inuvik bank staff flew into Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk,
Sachs Harbour, as well as Fort McPherson. The Flying Bank service was
discontinued in 1979.

    CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly
11 million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range of
products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network,
branches and offices across Canada, in the United States and around the world.
You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Press
Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.