Helping to fund an outreach service for families overcoming mental health issues

BRAMPTON, ON, Nov. 8 /CNW/ - CIBC (CM: TSX;NYSE) is pleased to celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of the Peel Children's Centre with a $25,000 donation. The announcement is being made tomorrow, November 9, at the Peel Children's Centre "Extreme Reno" Hard Hat Tour of the recently renovated treatment residence for children, located at 1751 Queen Street West, in Brampton.  

This donation will support the Centre's Intensive Child and Family Program (ICF) - an outreach service for children and youth, ages seven to 17 where a family member has a history of mental health issues.  The program provides access to intensive, yet flexible in-home, in-school and in-community counseling and support services. 

The Peel Children's Centre estimates that the ICF program will support 180 families in Peel Region over the course of this year.

"Peel Children's Centre has been blessed to receive generous financial support from CIBC for more than a decade," said Humphrey Mitchell, the Centre's Executive Director.  "This major grant of $25,000 to our ICF program follows a $10,000 donation made last year to help furnish our Queen Street residential facility.  We are grateful to CIBC for supporting services that bring hope to children, youth and their families who are experiencing serious mental health challenges," added Mitchell.

"At CIBC, we invest in the health and well-being of Canadians," said Larry Tomei, CIBC's Senior Vice-President of Retail Markets for Central Canada. "We are pleased to increase our funding to now include the ICF program, a critical service of the Peel Children's Centre."

Over the past five years CIBC has donated more than $55,000 to the Peel Children's Centre which includes contributions from the CIBC Children's Foundation.

CIBC is committed to supporting causes that matter to our clients, employees and our communities.  We aim to make a difference in communities through corporate donations, sponsorships and the volunteer spirit of employees.  With a strategic focus on youth, education and health, and employee commitment to causes including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure, the CIBC Children's Foundation and United Way, we are investing in the social and economic development of communities across the country. In 2009, $26.8 million was contributed through the CIBC group of companies to charitable and non-profit initiatives in Canada, supporting a wide variety of national, regional and local organizations. To learn more, visit www.communitymatters.cibc.com.