• $1 million donated to support Community Food Centres Canada to reduce food insecurity and physical isolation in Canada’s most vulnerable populations
   
• Two months service credited to internet customers using the federal Connecting Families program for low-income families

CALGARY, Alberta, March 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shaw Communications Inc. today announced that it has pledged $1 million to Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) to support the efforts of community food centres and agencies in cities and towns across the country while helping provide food security and empowerment to those most in need.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives and has significantly increased the demands placed on the organizations that are helping to provide food and resources to the most vulnerable Canadians,” said Brad Shaw, Chief Executive Officer, Shaw Communications. “As longtime partners of Community Food Centres Canada — and some of the community food centres and organizations they support — we are pleased to help them provide food security to low-income individuals, seniors, First Nation communities, and marginalized members of our communities during this time of crisis.”

Shaw’s donation to CFCC today will help the organization provide additional and immediate support to the organizations and communities it serves across Canada.

“Vulnerable Canadians need our support now more than ever as our communities continue to cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Nick Saul, CEO, Community Food Centres Canada. “The demand at our Community Food Centres and Good Food Organizations has never been higher, and this extraordinary donation from Shaw, a longtime partner, will help ensure that more Canadians get the essentials they need to help get through this difficult time. We are immensely grateful to Shaw for their very generous gift." 

“Access to good, healthy food is vital, but for low-income and vulnerable Canadians, it can be difficult to get access to these resources, especially during a time of crisis,” said Joy Bowen-Eyre, CEO, The Alex. “We are working tirelessly to deliver meals to The Alex’s community members, who are some of Calgary’s most vulnerable. This allows us to reduce barriers to food access and to stop the spread of COVID-19 among those most at risk. Shaw’s incredible donation will help us offer more meals and reach more of our clients in this critical time." 

“For newcomers to Canada, adjusting to a new culture, language, and financial situation can be extremely stressful, and the COVID-19 pandemic is posing a whole new set of challenges for them. The last thing anyone should have to worry about during a time of crisis is whether or not they will be able to eat,” said Neelam Sahota, CEO, DiverseCity, “Shaw’s generous donation will help give newcomers in our community access to healthy food and food skill resources they need to help during their transition."

“It is crucial that we work together to help provide food security to Canada’s most vulnerable populations as we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mercedes Watson, CEO, Dixon Hall. “Shaw has been a long-time supporter of Dixon Hall and their recent donation will help us ensure vulnerable Canadians facing challenges like homelessness have access to healthy meals and get the essentials they need to help get through this difficult time.”

Connecting Families
Shaw also announced today that it will automatically provide two months credit to all Shaw customers currently signed up to the Government of Canada’s “Connecting Families” initiative.

“In-home internet connectivity has never been more important than it is today, and for our customers most in need, we want to make sure they don’t have to worry about their monthly internet bill as they manage taking care of their family during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Shaw said.

#ShawHelps
Today’s announcements are the latest of several #ShawHelps initiatives designed to keep individuals, families, and communities connected and supported while they observe physical distancing and self-isolation protocols during the COVID-19 crisis. Other areas of support have included:

• The opening of Shaw Go WiFi across Western Canada, which has given people access to the country’s largest WiFi network for free.
• Giving Freedom Mobile customers with a rate plan of 3GB of Freedom LTE data or less — including those who have no data allotment — an extra 2GB of extra data for free to ensure they have the data certainty they need.
• Giving all Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct customers free access to several TV channels at no additional cost to keep their families informed and entertained, including CBC News Network, CTV News Channel, Treehouse and Disney Jr.
• Ensuring our customers continue to have the data they need to live their lives by not having hard data caps on our internet plans and not limiting our customers’ internet data use.

A full list of these and other #ShawHelps initiatives can be found at shaw.ca/shaw-helps

About Shaw
Shaw Communications Inc. is a leading Canadian connectivity company. The Wireline division consists of Consumer and Business services. Consumer serves residential customers with broadband Internet, Shaw Go WiFi, video and digital phone. Business provides business customers with Internet, data, WiFi, digital phone and video services. The Wireless division provides wireless voice and LTE data services through an expanding and improving mobile wireless network infrastructure.  
Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, SJR.PR.A, SJR.PR.B, NYSE – SJR, and TSXV – SJR.A). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca

For media inquiries, please contact:
Shaw Communications Inc.
Chethan Lakshman, VP, External Affairs
(403) 930-8448
chethan.lakshman@sjrb.ca