Kick-off to annual bike & equipment drive at Canadian Tire

    TORONTO, Oct. 2 /CNW/ -WHAT:        Neil Pickrell, Toronto Police Constable, and Dan Thompson,
                 President, Canadian Tire Foundation for Families will join
                 representatives from the City of Toronto and approximately
                 25 children from the Toronto Children's Breakfast Club to
                 kick off the annual bike and equipment drive.

                 Hosted by CityTV anchor Dwight Drummond, the kick-off will
                 also include a bike rodeo for the children from the
                 Breakfast Club. The rodeo will feature a number of stations,
                 each designed to reinforce the importance of bicycle safety.
                 The children will be asked to complete each station and
                 local celebrities will be on-hand to lend their support and
                 judge the children's grasp of the safety elements.

    WHO:         Dwight Drummond, CityTV Anchor and Reporter
                 Neil Pickrell, Police Constable, Toronto Police, 33 Division
                 Dan Thompson, President, Canadian Tire Foundation for
                 Families
                 Rick Gosling, City of Toronto
                 Ted Woloshyn, Toronto Sun
                 Patrick Grist, East York Rotary Club
                 Farley Flex, Canadian Idol Judge

    WHEN:        Saturday, October 4, 2008
                 10:00 am

    WHERE:       Canadian Tire Associate Store
                 1015 Lakeshore Boulevard East
                 (Leslie & Lakeshore East)

    BACKGROUND:  On October 4, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the public can
                 donate used bikes and sports equipment in good condition at
                 any one of 20 Canadian Tires stores across Toronto within
                 the 416 area code. All bikes and equipment will be expertly
                 refurbished and cleaned over the winter months and
                 distributed in the spring to help give all kids a sporting
                 chance.

                 This program is made possible through the City of Toronto,
                 Toronto Police Services, Canadian Tire, and TD Bank
                 Financial Group.

                 Launched in 2005 by the Canadian Tire Foundation for
                 Families, Canadian Tire JumpStart is a charitable program to
                 help kids in financial need participate in organized sports
                 and recreation such as hockey, dance, soccer and swimming.
                 The program provides funds to help offset the cost of
                 registration fees, transportation and equipment.

                 Since its inception, Canadian Tire JumpStart has helped more
                 than 123,000 children get in the game.