Télébec's
commitment to humanitarian and social causes reflects its concern for
helping the people it serves, and for maintaining and possibly improving
their quality of life.
The Bursary
Program for the children of Télébec employees and pensioners,
which began in 1978, recognizes the value of a good education in the pursuit
of a career. Télébec is therefore investing in the next
generation, the young people who want to go on to a higher education.
Every year, for four consecutive years, until they graduate from university,
the company pays a substantial amount to bursary recipients, who must
to meet certain eligibility criteria in return.
Since 1999, Télébec
has also awarded an $8,000 telecommunications scholarship. The program
will run for four consecutive years, and will thus be awarded to four
recipients, thus ensuring adequate training of future telecommunications
employees. Each recipient receives $2,000 per year for four years. Add
to that three 15-week summer internships for each recipient, with pay,
plus the prospect of a job at Télébec or one of its subsidiaries
after they graduate. The program was launched in collaboration with the
Fondation de l'Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Other bursaries are
also awarded to students at secondary schools and colleges on Télébec
territory.
Humanitarian Spirit
Almost 20
humanitarian organizations benefit from the generosity of the Fonds des
œuvres communautaires des employés de Télébec
(FOCET). The annual fundraising campaign always manages to exceed the
objectives set by FOCET, which is thus able to contribute considerable
support to the most underprivileged in society. For example, the 2000-2001
edition of this heart-warming campaign raised nearly $30,000, which was
shared among 17 humanitarian organizations on Télébec territory.
In addition, our administrative
offices in Bécancour and Val-d'Or are used for different phonathons,
telethons and other events, in particular, the Téléthon
Jean Lapointe, the Cerebral Palsy Telethon, the Telethon of Stars for
research into children's diseases, the Téléthon de la Ressource
d'aides et services pour personnes handicapées de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue,
the Association des handicapés de Val-d'Or and Héma-Québec.
Many Télébec employees are volunteers for these activities.
Environmental Protection
Télébec
is concerned about preserving the natural resources on its territory and
contributes to research into new solutions in the environmental field.
Télébec formally committed itself to work toward sustainable
development by signing the Environmental Charter of the North American
Telecommunications Industry on October 12, 2000. The first Bell subsidiary
to adhere to the fundamental guiding principles of the North American
industry, Télébec thus crowned 10 years of sustained efforts.
Whether it's by recycling paper and metals, eliminating greenhouse gases,
recuperating batteries from telephone exchanges, recuperating used oils
from its vehicles and generators, or respecting a minimum distance between
telephone poles and wetlands, Télébec takes concrete steps
to demonstrate its profound respect for its environment.
Beautification
of Heritage Sites
Respectful
of the sites that have made history on its territory, Télébec,
in partnership with Hydro-Québec and Bell Canada, contributed to
the implementation of a program to bury the distribution systems of municipalities
concerned about preserving their heritage sites. The aim of the program
is the harmonious integration of public utilities in locations that are
considered community treasures. The company also agrees to other, less
costly solutions with municipalities on its territory, such as relocation,
or network modifications.
Community Involvement
Télébec
and its employees' involvement in their local communities is consistent
with the company's self-appointed mission to participate actively in the
economic, cultural and social development of its territory:
Télébec
employees and pensioners committed to children's safety have participated
in Opération Citrouille for the past ten years,
working with the police forces of some 50 municipalities on its territory
to ensure the safety and well-being of small children at Halloween.
As part of Opération
Nez Rouge, besides making sure that partygoers get home safely
during the Holiday Season, Télébec volunteers also raise
funds which go, notably, to the pediatric department of the Centre
hospitalier de Val-d'Or. The company also sponsors several other groups
of this kind on its territory.
Télébec
also provided concrete support to the community in July 2000, when
Val-d'Or hosted the Tour de l'Abitibi. Some 50 Télébec
volunteers, with 25 company vehicles, worked with local police to
ensure the safety of the cyclists.
La Guignolée
des Médias brings together Télébec employees
and members of the local Val-d'Or media, who go door-to-door collecting
clothing, foodstuffs, toys and money for donation to disadvantaged
families in the community.
As for the Opération
paniers de Noël in Bécancour, the employees' generosity
over the years has been endless: the Christmas baskets are readily
filled to bring a little comfort and cheer to the less fortunate in
the region.
Blood Donor Clinics:
A Life-giving Activity at Télébec
The blood
drives organized every year by the Bécancour and Val-d'Or employees
attract about 800 donors, for whom the gift of blood is also the gift
of life. Now a well-established tradition, Télébec employees
have made the annual blood donor clinics a standing appointment - with
life itself !
