2. Contributing to National and Community-based Organizations Across Canada

The Hbc Foundation is proud of its involvement with national and community-based organizations that are aligned with its mandate to inspire Canadians and support healthy families and strong communities.

Hbc’s 2007 Contribution

Province		2004		2005		2006		2007
Alberta	$	328,705	$	384,636	$	422,353	$	466,885
British Columbia		370,695		427,709		532,208		782,397
Manitoba*		1,155,358		1,718,850		1,122,491		2,939,486
New Brunswick		65,350		54,500		144,159		223,648
Newfoundland/Labrador		193,875		34,890		28,937		35,974
Nova Scotia		98,445		107,715		151,422		234,058
Ontario		3,074,529		3,093,683		3,359,592		2,199,621
Prince Edward Island		12,030		12,500		13,500		11,631
Quebec		462,515		564,886		973,112		1,049,724
Saskatchewan		77,315		120,910		152,050		163,311
National Organizations		4,562,615		3,933,357		3,769,039		4,061,042
Total	$	10,800,432	$	10,453,637	$	10,668,863	$	12,167,777

* Hbc provides extensive support to the Manitoba Museum and the Archives of Manitoba to assist in the preservation of our archives and artifacts.

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Supporting Canadian Heritage

As Canada’s oldest company, we believe we have an important role to play in preserving and promoting the history of our country. We have chosen to pursue this goal through a number of key initiatives.

Hbc Archival Donations to the Manitoba Museum and Manitoba Archives

Hbc made two significant archival donations in 2007. The first was a donation to the Manitoba Museum of 11 silver artifacts valued at $86,000. Declared national treasures by the federal government, the silver pieces are on display in the museum’s renowned Hudson’s Bay Company Gallery. The second donation, of archives valued at $1.43 million, was the first major addition of archival records to the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives (Manitoba Archives) since the original donation in 1994. The donation consists of approximately 1,395 feet of records (primarily textual records, but they also include some records in other media, including photographs and architectural plans). The records range from 1723 to 1999, predominantly from the period between 1900 and 1987.

In June 2007, the Province of Manitoba’s Hudson’s Bay Company archives were added to the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Memory of the World Registry. These historic records, covering the Company’s history from 1670 to 1920, trace Hbc’s beginnings, the development of the North American fur trade, the exploration and settlement of Canada and the United States, and the growth of the Company’s retail business.

Exploring Our History Program

The Hbc Foundation donated over $110,000 in educational resources to schools in 2007. Hbc regularly distributes copies of its history book Adventurers/Les aventuriers to teachers, as well as maintaining an interactive historical website that receives thousands of visitors each year.

Local History Grant Program

The Hbc Local History Grant program was launched in 2007 and the Company awarded $50,000 to various community-based history projects. A wide variety of initiatives received funding support to a maximum of $1,000 each.

The Ingersoll Cheese and Agricultural Museum used their grant to take two new museum programs, “Curds and Whey – Our Dairying Heritage” and “From Washtubs to Whimmy Diddles – a Day in the Life of a Pioneer Child”, directly to local schools. The in-school programs provide students with an exciting and engaging look at the local history that shaped the community.

The Owen Sound Marine and Rail Museum presented its first “History Can Be Deadly” cemetery tour. The family event brought out community members both young and old, and will continue to be a part of the museum programming in future years. Jill McFadden-Bartley, the education programmer at the museum, says “the great part about this project is we now have a great cemetery travel box that can be used for museum-guided programs or shipped out to teachers to use on their own.”

Canadian Canoe Museum

The Hbc Foundation’s partnership with the Canoe Museum has resulted in the development of educational programs, introducing thousands of children to the importance of the canoe in Canadian history. In addition, the foundation also assists with artisan and public programs that attempt to preserve various traditional skills including paddle carving, canoe building and repair, capote making, sash weaving and many more.

Through hands-on curriculum-linked school programs, children spend a day as voyageurs in the fur trade, carve soapstone, make souvenir-sized paddles, build kayaks and learn about the history of our country. With Hbc’s addition of a fleet of fibreglass canoes, the summer day camp kids are able to spend a day on the water learning about water safety and how to paddle, and playing canoe games. For many of these children, it is their introduction to the very Canadian activity of canoeing. For the past two years Hbc, with the help of a local service club, has been able to accommodate children from families with limited means into the program. For these children especially, we are told, this is an opportunity that is changing lives. Over a 12-month period, more than 80 people have benefited from instruction in a public workshop.

The Silver Canoe

This glittering gem comes to us with its own unique story. A gift in the 1840s to Hbc Governor Sir George Simpson from the Earl of Caledon, it is an exquisitely detailed, 15-inch sterling silver model of a Montreal canoe – the workhorse of the trade canoe. Crafted by Garrad’s of London, silversmith to Queen Victoria, it has been handed down through the descendants of Sir George, landing in the possession of Sarah Haddon of Peebleshire, Scotland. It was discovered almost simultaneously by Canoe Museum curator Dr. James Raffan in the course of research for a book on Sir George and by Canadian philanthropist Michael Davies. Mr. Davies mounted a campaign to raise funds to purchase it for the museum. Hbc was, of course, a key participant in this endeavour. The Silver Canoe made its way to the museum in the fall of 2007 after a tour of fundraising dinners in Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary.

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Supporting Canadian Athletes

Hbc continued its efforts to support Canadian athletes in 2007 with a donation of $2.9 million. These funds were directed to athletic organizations such as Own the Podium, to elite training facilities across Canada and to 200 athletes, who received individual bursaries of $5,000 each. This donation is part of the Company’s overall commitment to donate $20 million to Canadian athletes over a seven-year period.

Funding Breakdown

• $1 million handed out to Canadian athletes (for a complete list of the 200 Canadian athletes selected to receive funds through Hbc’s Run for Canada program, please visit: http://www.hbcrunforcanada.ca/2008/athletes.php )
• $300,000 to Own the Podium, an initiative supporting athletes training for the Olympic Winter Games
• $300,000 to Road to Excellence, an initiative supporting athletes training for the Summer Olympic Games
• $300,000 to the Canadian Paralympic Foundation
• $400,000 to the Commonwealth Games, Canada
• $300,000 to the Pacific Sport National Training Centre (Victoria)
• $50,000 to Canadian Sport Centre Ontario
• $50,000 to Canadian Sport Centre Manitoba
• $50,000 to Canadian Sport Centre Saskatchewan
• $50,000 to Canadian Sport Centre Calgary

Hbc Run for Canada – $2 million

Each year, Hbc hosts a 10k run, 3k walk and a 1k kids’ run on Canada Day. The event draws everyone from competitive runners to families looking to spend the day with some of Canada’s top athletes. In 2007, the Hbc Run for Canada grew by 50 percent with over 13,000 participants, and also expanded from 10 to 13 cities, including:

• Victoria, British Columbia
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Red Deer, Alberta
• Calgary, Alberta
• Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
• Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Toronto, Ontario
• Algonquin Park, Ontario
• Windsor, Ontario
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Montréal, Québec
• St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Halifax, Nova Scotia

In addition to raising funds through event registration and pledge sheets, Hbc stores (the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Designer Depot) raised money through local fundraisers. Stores also invited Hbc-supported athletes (those receiving $5,000 bursaries) to make more than 170 appearances, so that customers could interact with them and learn more about their sports.

The Hbc Run for Canada program also raised funds for athletes through the sale of specially branded running socks and cut-out water cups that were sold at checkout stations in Zellers stores. The sales revenue from the socks and cut-outs totalled over $1 million.

Hbc Golf Tournament and Spa for Canadian Athletes – $450,000

On September 11, 2007, over 700 Hbc senior executives, suppliers, vendors and athletes raised $450,000 by participating in Hbc’s Annual Golf Tournament and Spa in support of athletes. The event took place at four ClubLink courses located east of Toronto. As part of Hbc’s new sustainability initiative, Global Mind, the golf tournament organizers partnered with Turtle Island Recycling to host the first-ever zero waste golf tournament in Canada.

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National Partnerships

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

For the fifth straight year, Hbc has supported the Think Pink^™ program. In 2007, the Company raised over $400,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and our customers donated over $100,000 worth of Hbc Rewards Points. In addition, all Hbc stores and Hbc.com sold a selection of pink products, which included marquee items such as a pink apron (Home Outfitters) and pink Hbc Signature blanket (the Bay) and a pink lapel pin (Zellers), raising over $125,000.

Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF)

Since 1985, Hbc and its associates have been loyal friends of the cystic fibrosis cause, committing more than $25 million to help find a cure or an effective control for cystic fibrosis.

Annually Hbc is proud to support Shinerama, the CCFF’s largest post-secondary fundraising campaign, involving first-year students from 57 universities and colleges Canada-wide. In addition, Hbc is the incentive prize and volunteer appreciation sponsor of the Foundation’s Great Strides^™ walkathon, plus the presenting sponsor of a number of fundraising galas in key urban centres.

Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF)

Since 2001, Hbc has donated more than $1 million to support the Hbc Violence Prevention Fund, a program to distribute grants to local shelters for abused women, sexual assault centres and other organizations working to prevent violence. Hbc has also worked closely with the CWF to match each Hbc store with a women’s shelter in its community. In 2007, stores presented shelters with $237,000 in Hbc gift cards. Hbc also provides the CWF with translation services for its quarterly newsletter.

Canada Day Poster Challenge

Hbc is a national prize sponsor of the Canada Day Poster Challenge, a program run by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Status of Women to encourage students age 18 and under to design a poster that illustrates what Canada means to them. Semi-finalists are selected from each province and then the grand prize winner is flown to Ottawa to be presented with a special award on Parliament Hill on Canada Day.

Safe Kids Canada

Since 2006, Hbc has worked with Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto to support Kids that Click, a national educational program to assist parents and caregivers when buying and using car or booster seats. In 2007, Hbc introduced an educational DVD at Zellers stores across Canada. In addition, Hbc continued to publicize the program by distributing brochures and reference cards at Zellers and the Bay stores.

Look Good Feel Better (LGFB)

Hbc has been a national partner of LGFB for a number of years. In this role, Hbc sponsors the LGFB ball, which raises funds to help women living with cancer manage the appearance-related side effects of the disease and its treatment. The Bay stores from coast to coast also hold cosmetic fundraising galas throughout the year, while Bay associates often donate their time to teach a LGFB make-up application course for cancer survivors. In 2007, Hbc donated over $210,000 to this worthwhile charity.

Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness

In 2007, Hbc partnered with the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness (CCAA) to launch special-edition children’s clothing and sleepwear at Zellers with partial proceeds from sales benefiting CCAA. The program was a tremendous success, raising over $50,000 for education and awareness programs.

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Local Community Events and Fundraising

The Giving Day

The Bay launched the Giving Day program in 2007 and helped over 700 community groups and schools raise $250,000. On November 3, 2007, customers were invited to attend Giving Day at Bay stores and receive an additional 15 percent discount off most merchandise when they presented their Giving Day ticket. Leading up to the event, community groups and schools sold tickets for $5 each and retained 100% of ticket revenue. Tickets sold in stores one week prior to Giving Day also raised $100,000 for the Hbc Foundation.

Community Cares Program

The Hbc Foundation launched a new national fundraising program in 2007 that raised over $490,000. From November 5 to December 24, 2007, customers at the Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Designer Depot stores were asked to donate $1 to their local charities. Funds raised are used to support causes in local communities across Canada. The response from our customers was astounding:

• Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Calgary, Alberta: $6,097
• British Columbia Women’s Hospital Foundation, Vancouver, British Columbia: $9,092
• Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario: $18,411
• Cancer Care Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba: $4,032
• Christmas Daddies, Moncton, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia: $134,000
• Cops for Cancer, Edmonton, Alberta: $5,000
• George Jeffrey Children’s Centre, Thunder Bay, Ontario: $9,749
• Janeway Children’s Hospital, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: $6,499
• La grande guignolée des médias, Québec (provincial): $226,673
• Sick Kids Hospital Foundation, Toronto, Ontario: $63,492
• Stollery Hospital Foundation, Edmonton, Alberta: $16,355
• Telemiracle Foundation, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: $3,971
• William Osler Hospital Foundation, Brampton, Ontario: $5,929
• McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario: $7,882
• St. Catharines General Hospital, St. Catharines, Ontario: $588

Fashion Cares

Fashion Cares, the annual Toronto AIDS Committee fundraiser, was held in Toronto’s Distillery District in May 2007. The Bay provided $400,000 in support for this memorable event, including cosmetic products to sell at the on-site boutique, window displays at Toronto’s Queen Street Bay store and Hbc associate time to help organize the event.

Hbc Associate Scholarship Program

The Hbc Associate Scholarship Program was founded in 1991 and awards $100,000 in scholarships each year. The program provides bursaries to help finance higher education for the children and dependants of Hbc associates.

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