Media releases

Virgin Mobile & Virgin Unite's RE*Generation announce social investment in Calgary's the doorway

Recipient of 2012 Award for Ending Youth Homelessness to receive an additional $25,000 investment from the RE*Generation

CALGARY (ALBERTA) June 8, 2012

To tweet this release: https://twitter.com/

Calgary (Alberta) June 8 2012 Virgin Mobile Canada and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, announced today that they’ll be donating funds to Calgary’s The DOORWAY. Raised from the proceeds of Virgin Mobile’s 2011 RE*Generation phone, the social investment grant is in addition to the Eva’s Initiatives Award for Ending Youth Homelessness that was awarded to The DOORWAY yesterday in partnership with Virgin Unite and the Sprott Foundation. The total value of the two donations is $50,000.

“We have been so impressed by the submissions to the Awards for Ending Youth Homelessness and The DOORWAY stood out as an innovative program that addresses the needs of youth with real, lasting solutions,” says Andrew Bridge, managing director of Virgin Mobile Canada and Virgin Unite Trustee. “Programs like this truly bring together best practices so that we can make a real difference – and that’s what the RE*Generation is all about. We are delighted to further honour The DOORWAY with this additional investment so that they can continue to create an impact in the Calgary community and support the fight to end youth homelessness in Canada.”

Opening the door to new opportunities

The $25,000 social investment from Virgin Unite & Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation will go towards The DOORWAY, which invests in youth who are developing and pursuing their own life goals related to housing, employment, legal, health, leadership, identification, finances, drug and alcohol use, education and volunteering. The organization provides a bridge for youth who have developed knowledge of how to survive on the streets who then need to develop knowledge and strategies for surviving in different mainstream environments, such as workplaces or with family.

The DOORWAY works with approximately 100 young people each year.  Entering its 25th year as a presence in Calgary, their model of adaptive learning continues to support street-involved young people to take control of their lives and develop practical skills and relationships necessary for surviving in mainstream culture.  

For more information on The DOORWAY, visit www.thedoorway.ca.

Creating a force for good

The investment was generated by funds raised from the sales of Virgin Mobile’s limited edition Samsung Gravity 3 RE*Generation phone.  Fifteen dollars from the sale of each phone was donated back to the RE*Generation Movement by Virgin Mobile and Samsung. 

For both Members and non-Members, Canadians can continue to help support the RE*Generation and do some good with three simple steps:

1. Change For A Dollar: Virgin Mobile Members can add $1 to their mobile phone bill each month. The monthly dollar will then be directly donated to Virgin Unite and the RE*Generation movement
2. Text To Donate: Canadians can donate $5 to Virgin Unite and RE*Generation by texting REGEN to 30333
3. Sign The Petition: We’re asking Parliament to recognize November 17th as National Youth Homelessness Awareness Day (NYHAD). Head to virginmobile.ca/regen to add your name to our online petition and help make NYHAD a reality!

To learn more about how you can get involved with Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation, head to www.virginmobile.ca/regen.

Virgin Mobile’s RE*Generation Movement

In early 2008, Virgin Mobile Canada and Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin group of companies, joined together to create the RE*Generation movement and empower a generation to help its own.  We're bringing together organizations that care about Canada's homeless and at-risk youth and we're connecting them with people who want to help. RE*Generation is a movement to support solutions to youth homelessness and support at-risk youth programs in Canada.  To date, over $1.5 million has been raised and dispersed to leading youth serving agencies across the country. The RE*Generation movement is working with a number of Canadian charitable partners to help get kids off the streets and onto a path for a brighter future. For more information visit http://www.virginunite.com or go to www.virginmobile.ca/regen to sign up and join the movement.

About Virgin Mobile Canada

Virgin Mobile Canada rewards, entertains and connects like no one else, delivering the hottest phones on the hottest 4G network.  Virgin Mobile Members also get exclusive VIP access and deals and award-winning service. 91 percent of Members would also recommend Virgin Mobile to a friend.   

The Virgin Mobile group of companies has attracted more than 15 million customers worldwide.  Virgin Mobile phones are available at more than 4,000 locations nationally including The Source, Virgin Mobile retail locations and additional retail partners. Virgin Mobile products can also be purchased online at www.virginmobile.ca or by calling 1-888-999-2321. Get personal with Virgin Mobile Canada on Facebook at facebook.com/virginmobilecan and Twitter at twitter.com/virginmobilecan.

About Virgin Unite

Virgin Unite is the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. We unite people to tackle tough social and environmental problems in an entrepreneurial way. Our aim is to help revolutionize the way businesses, government and the social sector work together – driving business as a force for good. This is based on the belief that this is the only way we can tackle the scale and urgency of the challenges facing the world today. Virgin Unite’s overheads are covered by Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group, meaning that 100 percent of additional donations received go direct to the frontline where they are needed most. For more information please visit www.virginunite.com. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/virginunite and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/virginunite.

For more information, please contact:

Erica Faltous, Virgin Mobile
erica.faltous@virginmobile.ca
416-400-0171

Mallory Oudendag, Hill Knowlton Strategies
mallory.oudendag@hkstrategies.ca
403-268-7853