MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – Ten Montreal Alouettes players met with students at Saint-Henri High School in Montreal on Monday for the official launch of the Together at School with CN and the Alouettes program for 2013.
During this visit, the players on-hand reached out to over 500 students from Grades 7 to 11 in the school’s auditorium about the importance of making the right choices and academic perseverance. This marks the 16th winter where Alouettes players visit schools across the province.
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The players on-hand reached out to over 500 students from Grades 7 to 11 in the school’s auditorium about the importance of making the right choices and academic perseverance | PHOTOS » |
Together at School with CN and the Alouettes is a community outreach program that will see Alouettes players visit over 60,000 students at 120 schools in 2013.
“It has always been important for the Alouettes to remain actively involved in the community, and through this program, CN, our players and our organization can be part of something that we all have close to heart, the importance of staying in school,” explained Alouettes Chief Operating Officer, Mark Weightman. “Thanks to CN’s ongoing support, the quality of this program improves on a yearly basis. Our players go to schools and draw examples from both their personal lives and football experiences to captivate the attention of young people and positively impact their lives.”
Involved in Quebec schools since 1998, the Montreal Alouettes have been teaming up with CN (TSX : CNR) (NYSE : CNI) since 2001 to support youth education in Quebec and encourage kids to stay in school. The Together at School with CN and the Alouettes program also incorporates a tutoring and mentorship component, which spans the entire school year.
The players in this year’s program include: Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, John Bowman, Martin Bédard, Scott Flory, Éric Deslauriers, Josh Bourke, Anthony Barrette, and Kristian Matte, as well as program newcomers Wopamo Osaisai, Michael Carter, Sean Whyte, Ameet Pall and Patrick Lavoie. All 13 players participating in this year’s program have completed a week-long training session at CN Headquarters by experts in both mentoring and counseling. New to the program training session this year, the players also received French lessons in order to better interact with the students and will continue learning French throughout the duration of this year’s school visits.
This year, the launch coincided with the start of the province-wide Hooked on School Days, a mobilization event with the purpose of getting the community active and involved to speak to youth about effort, perseverance, the risks of dropping out of school and the advantages of obtaining a diploma.
“It’s always nice to speak to our youth. Not long ago, I was in school just like these kids and it’s very important for me to make them understand that I would not be where I am today without having stayed in school,” said Laval-native Martin Bédard, now in his fourth year in the program.
The Together at School with CN and the Alouettes program started it’s school visits on January 29 at l’École Laflamme in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and will continue until April. For a list of participating schools and more information including how to apply for a program visit, go to CN.school.MontrealAlouettes.com.
About CN
Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries – spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information on CN, visit the company’s website at www.cn.ca.
