It’s not often a bank gives away money, but the Toronto Dominion bank presented the University of Toronto at Scarborough (UTSC) with a $1-million corporate donation, ahead of a Rouge Park tree-planting to mark the occasion.
The TD bank gave the money to UTSC to support education and research in the field of urban forest conservation and biology, a press release stated.
TD Canada’s senior vice president, Alec Morley, was on hand at the event to explain the reasoning behind the generous donation.
“This gift … underscores our ongoing commitment to not only urban forestry, it straddles all three of what we call our pillars of charitable giving,” he said. “These are education, the environment and creating opportunities for young people and this is why we consider this partnership so appropriate.”
UTSC Principal Franco Vaccarino, said the gift will help to continue building on an already strong environmental platform in place at the university.
“The gift we are celebrating today from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation is building on some great strengths of the University of Toronto Scarborough that precisely address these issues,” he said. “Over the past few years we have seen tremendous growth of programs like biology, the environment and urban sustainability. This is a real platform of strength at this campus.”
Members of UTSC and TD came together for the tree planting at Rouge Park
David Palmer, UTSC’s vice president and chief advancement officer, considers the monetary gift as a sign of acknowledgment of the role the U of T has been playing in Canada.
“This is a remarkable record of investment in higher education and recognition of the leadership that this university and its citizens provide to the future of this country,” Palmer said.
