Hundreds of Grade 9 students attend CIBC's "Take Our Kids to Work Day"

    TORONTO, Nov. 5 /CNW/ - Hundreds of Grade 9 students across the country
saw first-hand what it is like to work at one of Canada's largest banks during
today's "Take Our Kids to Work Day" at CIBC offices, branches and call
centres.
    At CIBC's head office in downtown Toronto, more than 300 students took
part in a special program and job-shadowed their parents and parents'
co-workers in a number of areas to give them a broader view of the many career
choices in banking.
    "Take Our Kids to Work Day is a marvellous opportunity to give our young
people ideas of what they may choose as a career," said Al Dodington, Senior
Vice-President Human Resources. "The experience serves as a valuable part of
their education on the path to adulthood and it allows companies to contribute
to that education. CIBC is proud to have given them a glimpse of the working
world and what it means to go to work and to have a career."
    At head office in Toronto, the kids began the day together at The Suites
at 1 King Street West with a BINGO icebreaker to get to know each other
better, an overview of CIBC and a talk on "Where your money goes." There was
an Equity and Diversity quiz, as well as a presentation on bank security
including the technology used to keep money safe. Kids then shadowed their
parent/guardian for the rest of the day. The agenda was repeated in the
afternoon for kids who chose to shadow their host in the morning.
    Students in CIBC branches across the country greeted clients and
experienced how important a bank is to everyday life and how CIBC is involved
in the community.
    TOKWD is a national program created by The Learning Partnership in 1994.
Its purpose is to introduce Grade 9 students to jobs and professions by
allowing them to shadow employees in a variety of businesses for a half or
full day. More than 1.5 million young Canadians have learned first-hand about
careers and the working world through TOKWD in tens of thousands of workplaces
across Canada.
    CIBC has participated in TOKWD since its inception. In 2007, CIBC
contributed more than $4 million to hundreds of initiatives that support youth
through mentoring, skills development, financial literacy training, nutrition
and health, anti-bullying, youth shelters and programs for young people with
disabilities. In addition, CIBC's total multi-year commitments to colleges and
universities total almost $18 million. Of this, more than $6 million is
directed to bursaries and scholarships to help young people reach their full
potential.

    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.