Montréal, May 14, 2018 – On May 10, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal awarded ten scholarships to worthy students to encourage success and school retention. The scholarships were awarded at the offices of Canadian National (CN), as part of the 22nd edition of Operation Back to School. The program ran from November 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018 and gave over 4,800 students a chance to attend presentations by more than 125 business community professionals who visited Montréal area high schools.
“School retention is one of the main levers of development for our economy and society,” said Sean Finn, executive vice-president, corporate services and chief legal officer for CN, and chair of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. “Education promotes economic prosperity, social progress and innovation. I am convinced of this, which is why I enthusiastically signed on as patron of the 22nd edition of Operation Back to School. Teachers, speakers from the business community and ambassadors – without whom we couldn’t award the scholarships – all, in their own way, have the power to influence the future choices of the students who participated. Their contribution is invaluable, and I would like to thank them.”
“For over 20 years, the Chamber has been promoting school retention and success,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. “With the city’s economy running at full tilt, virtually full employment and labour education and retraining needs will intensify. We need to leverage all of the resources of our economy and society. School retention is one of the answers to our labour challenges and the global success of our society.”
“Since 1996, some 165,000 young people have received advice from business people through presentations as part of Operation Bank of School,” Michel Leblanc said. “In the past decade alone, 90 scholarships totalling $120,000 were awarded to participating students. These are numbers we can be proud of. We are also delighted to see that, despite the amount of work that remains to be done to improve the graduation rate among Québec’s young people, progress is clearly visible thanks to the increased mobilization of all sectors.”
With the support of Operation Back to School ambassadors, this year the Chamber awarded ten $1,500 scholarships to as many students who have distinguished themselves for their commitment and effort at school. These scholarships will enable recipients to continue their professional, technical or university studies.
The following students from high schools and community organizations received awards:
- Sandra Auclair-Tremblay – Carrefour jeunesse-emploi Huntingdon
- Xavier Brouillette – École secondaire Georges-Vanier
- Thara Louis-Jeune – École secondaire Amos
- Diongue Khadim – Centre Gédéon-Ouimet
- Louana Lyn Blinco – École secondaire Louis-Philippe-Paré
- Samuel Kuenzi-Valois – École secondaire Monseigneur-Richard
- Erin Thomson – École secondaire Beaconsfield
- Rolencia Siméus – Centre Ferland
- Yassine Sargha – École de la Traversée
- Loussanda Kénol – École Évangéline
Operation Back to School is produced with the financial support of Montréal Relève and the participation of its Platinum ambassadors: Intact and belairdirect; its Gold ambassador: CN; and its Silver ambassadors: the Regroupement des CPA de Montréal and Pomerleau. The Chamber also thanks its association partners Academos, Youth Fusion and Montreal Hooked on School.
About the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM)
With a network of over 7,000 members, the CCMM is active on two fronts: being the voice of the Montréal business community and delivering specialized services to businesses and their representatives. With its finger on the pulse of current events, it acts on issues that are decisive for the prosperity of the city’s businesses. With the support of the Acclr experts, the CCMM’s goal is to accelerate the creation and growth of businesses of all sizes, at home and around the world.
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Source :
Julie Serero
Advisor, Media Relations
Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4042
jserero@ccmm.ca
Facebook : www.facebook.com/chambremontreal
Twitter : @chambremontreal
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