Company Offers over $20,000, Volunteer Support and Sports Equipment for the School

TORONTO, May 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Corporation has pledged $20,000 to help rebuild the Mary Shadd Public School playground in Scarborough, Ontario, after it was damaged by fire Monday night.  After hearing about the extensive community support and passion for building the playground, the Company was moved to also offer volunteer support to rebuild the playground as well as new sports equipment, including soccer balls, hockey sticks and nets for the school.

Canadian Tire's contribution is made up of a $20,000 corporate donation and a $2,000 contribution from Stephen Grand, Dealer of the local Canadian Tire store at 4630 Sheppard Ave. East.

"We have been an active part of Canadian communities for over 90 years and are passionate about healthy and active living - from the playground to the podium.  We know that playgrounds are the start of getting kids active at an early age," said Duncan Fulton, Senior Vice President at Canadian Tire Corporation.  "We will work closely with the school and parents to make sure this playground is rebuilt quickly and that the kids at Mary Shadd Public School have new sports equipment that will hopefully build their love of sport and playing."

"We have a very strong community at Mary Shadd and our students and parents worked hard to raise the money to build our kindergarten play structure. We are devastated by the loss and are extremely grateful of the generosity that the Canadian Tire has shown to our community," said Annessa Ali, Pricipal at Mary Shadd Public School.  "On behalf of the Mary Shadd community, we thank Canadian Tire for enabling us to rebuild our play structure."

About Canadian Tire Corporation
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX:CTC.a) (TSX:CTC) is a Family of Companies that includes Canadian Tire Retail, Partsource, Gas+, FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport and Atmosphere), Mark's and Canadian Tire Financial Services.  With more than 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets from coast-to-coast, our primary retail business categories - Automotive, Living, Fixing, Playing and Apparel - are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division. Over 85,000 people are employed across the Canadian Tire enterprise, which was founded in 1922 and remains one of Canada's most recognized and trusted brands. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

SOURCE: CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED