RONA Foundation Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary, Raises $500,000 at Annual Golf Day

BOUCHERVILLE, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Aug. 25, 2008) - Today the RONA Foundation raised $500,000 at its Annual Golf Day, held at Hillsdale Golf Club near Montreal. The tournament brought together some 500 participants, the majority from the network of RONA suppliers. On this occasion, the RONA Foundation also released its 2007 Activities Report, which presents the initiatives carried out during the year to help young Canadians between the ages of 12 and 30 who are facing problems related to illiteracy and quitting school. This year, the RONA Foundation is celebrating 10 years of existence.

"For the past 10 years, the RONA Foundation has helped young people with difficulties aged 12 to 30 years old - a group that's often overlooked. Many young people who come out of this group are sometimes poorly equipped to negotiate the change into adult life and its associated responsibilities, and face problems that prevent them from achieving balance and fulfillment," said RONA President and CEO Robert Dutton, who is also Chairman of the RONA Foundation. "The RONA Foundation's mission is to help these young people achieve their full potential and become self-reliant through support for education and training."

The RONA Foundation focuses on fundraising, and the money raised is distributed across Canada to registered charitable organizations that share the Foundation's mission. In 2007, nearly $430,000 in donations went to 44 organizations supported by the RONA Foundation.

Organizations supported by the Foundation in 2007 include:

National

Breakfast Clubs of Canada

Alberta

Alberta Mentor Foundation for Youth (Calgary)

Camp Carmangay (Calgary)

British Columbia

Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society of British Columbia (Kamloops)

YWCA Emma's Teen Parents Support Project (Vancouver)

Manitoba

Gladys Cook Education Centre, Agassiz Youth Centre (Portage La Prairie)

New Brunswick

Jeunes Entreprises Nouveau-Brunswick (Edmundston)

Ontario

Children's Aid Foundation (Toronto)

North West Scarborough Youth Centre, Youth Link (Scarborough)

South Essex Community Council (Leamington)

Youth Assisting Youth, The Youth Mentoring People (Toronto)

YWCA of Hamilton/Burlington (Hamilton)

Quebec

Accueil Bonneau (Montreal)

Atelier de meubles et de recyclage Ahuntsic-Cartierville (Montreal)

Association quebecoise des troubles d'apprentissage (Montreal)

Auberge communautaire du Sud-Ouest (Montreal)

Carrefour des 6-12 ans de Pierrefonds-Est (Pierrefonds)

Centre DEBAT (Montreal)

Centre residentiel et communautaire Jacques-Cartier (Quebec City)

Centre de formation en entreprise et recuperation (Gatineau)

Club des petits dejeuners du Quebec (Montreal)

Ecrit Tot de Saint-Hubert (Saint-Hubert)

Fondation Appui Enfance-Famille (Trois-Rivieres)

Fondation Audrey-Lehoux (Saint-Narcisse)

Fondation CSSS Jeanne-Mance (Montreal)

Fondation de l'Hopital de Montreal pour enfants (Montreal)

Fondation du Centre jeunesse de Montreal (Montreal)

Fondation du Centre psycho-pedagogique de Quebec (Quebec City)

Fondation du Maire de Montreal pour la jeunesse (Montreal)

Fondation Madeli-Aide (Iles-de-la-Madeleine)

Fondation Melanie Turgeon (Operation Enfants-Soleil)

Fondation Ressource-Jeunesse (Montreal)

Hopital Sainte-Justine (Montreal)

Institut du Nouveau Monde (Montreal)

L'Arche-Montreal (Montreal)

Le Boulot Vers... (Montreal)

Maison des Familles de Rimouski-Neigette (Rimouski)

Maison des jeunes de la MRC Robert-Cliche (Saint-Joseph)

Maison des jeunes Kekpart (Longueuil)

Maison du Goeland de la Rive-Sud (La Prairie)

Programme Alternative au decrochage du Plateau Mont-Royal (Montreal)

Regroupement Jeunesse en Marche (Montreal)

Newfoundland

Junior Achievement of Newfoundland and Labrador (St-John's)

Rotary Club of St-John's East Foundation (St. John's)

Helping young people achieve their potential

Created in 1998, the RONA Foundation gives priority to requests for financial assistance from initiatives that help young people achieve their potential and take their rightful place in the workforce. Projects supported by the Foundation include programs to lower school dropout rates, training programs, scholarships that help young people from underprivileged families complete their studies and learn a trade, on-the-job training programs and employment programs for underprivileged youth. Over the past 10 years, the RONA Foundation has given out nearly $1,700,000 to different charitable organizations dedicated to serving youth across Canada. The RONA Foundation today continues to grow, thanks to the generosity of its numerous donors. To learn more about the RONA Foundation, please visit www.foundation.rona.ca.

Sustainable development part of RONA's history

At RONA, sustainable development means growth for our communities and our employees, as well as respect for the environment. One of our most significant initiatives, in addition to the RONA Foundation, is the "Growing with Our Athletes" program, through which RONA supports 100 Canadian athletes. Where the environment is concerned, adopting responsible practices in this field has always been a priority at RONA. Our employees are constantly thinking about new, innovative ways to save energy, preserve the environment and promote responsible consumption. Recently, the company unveiled its reusable shopping bag and released its first RONA ECO brand products, which are much more environmentally friendly than equivalent conventional items, thanks to a product development approach that's based on a life-cycle analysis and a rigorous assessment process.

About RONA

RONA inc. is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. RONA operates a network of close to 700 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of various sizes and formats. With over 27,000 employees working under its family of banners in every region of Canada and more than 15 million square feet of retail space, the RONA store network generates over $6.3 billion in annual retail sales. For more, please visit www.rona.ca.

Contacts

Eva Boucher-Hartling
RONA Inc.
External Communications Director
514-599-5900, extension 5114
eva.boucher-hartling@rona.ca