Aeroplan Members Can Now Automatically Donate 2 per cent of Miles to Beyond Miles Charities

MONTREAL, June 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Aeroplan is pleased to welcome Athletes for Africa (A4A) as its ninth charitable partner in its Beyond Miles program, launching the partnership with a donation of more than 1.2 million Aeroplan Miles. A4A will use the miles to offset costs related to travel to bring youth together in sports and to promote global citizenship in Uganda, southern Sudan and the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo to help strengthen communities, provide education and foster skills development. As part of its commitment to the environment, Aeroplan will also fully offset all carbon emissions from flights taken by A4A using donated miles.

Starting today, Aeroplan Members will be able to donate miles to A4A online at www.aeroplan.com/donate.

"We're delighted to add Athletes for Africa to the Beyond Miles program," said Vince Timpano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aeroplan. "Members will now be able to donate their miles to a Canadian organization that supports youth and sport and gives them the much-needed opportunities, education and tangible skills that will empower the next generation to help build stronger communities, while using the power and profile of sport to promote global citizenship."

"As a small, growing, Canadian-founded charity with international aspirations, we're honoured to be added to this elite list of Aeroplan Beyond Miles partners," said Adrian Bradbury, Executive Director, Athletes for Africa. "Support from a global leader like Aeroplan is not only going to change the way we travel, it's going change how we listen, learn and support the leaders of tomorrow in Africa, Canada and all over the world."

Aeroplan also announced today that members can now automatically donate 2 per cent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member's choice. In addition to A4A, partners include: Air Canada's Kids Horizons, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Médecins Sans Frontières, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada.

"By enabling automatic donations of 2 per cent, we hope this will significantly increase the amount of donations our charitable partners receive. For example, if all of our members donated 2 per cent of miles last year, it would have added up to 800 million Aeroplan Miles that could be used towards improving lives at home and abroad," added Timpano.

Members interested in donating 2 per cent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to. Members can start, cancel and re-start the 2 per cent donation at any time without any limits and the recipient Beyond Miles partner can be changed at any time and as often as the member chooses.

About Beyond Miles

The Beyond Miles program invites Aeroplan members to join us in supporting nine Canadian charitable organizations through the donation of Aeroplan Miles including: Athletes for Africa, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders-Canada, Médecins Sans Frontières Canada, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders-Canada and War Child Canada. In addition to supporting these organizations, Beyond Miles also supports Air Canada's Kids' Horizons, a program dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of Canadian children and youth and their families. In 2009, more than 50 million miles were donated to Beyond Miles. For more information about Beyond Miles, please visit www.aeroplan.com/donate. For more information about Aeroplan's Corporate Social Responsibility program, please visit www.groupeaeroplan.com.

About Athletes for Africa

Athletes for Africa is a nonprofit organization that uses the power and profile of sport to promote global citizenship and empower the next generation of youth in Africa. By raising funds and increasing awareness, A4A supports local programs that strengthen communities, provide education and foster skills development.