From Coast-to-Coast Canadians Walk to Accelerate Diabetes Research

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - June 09, 2016) - On June 12, over 45,000 Canadians in 70 cities across Canada will join together to put an end to type 1 diabetes (T1D) by participating in the 2016 JDRF TELUS Walk to Cure Diabetes. This year, JDRF aims to raise $7 million to fund life-changing T1D research through JDRF and JDRF's Canadian Clinical Trial Network (CCTN).

"We've seen significant advances in research over the past 5 years; more than in previous decades. Ten years ago we weren't working with Nano-technologies and stem-cell derived therapies," says Dave Prowten, President and CEO of JDRF Canada. "With technological innovations and the ease of collaboration, the only things holding us back are the financial resources to make these advancements happen sooner. Everyone walking with us today; families, volunteers, and event sponsors, believe in JDRF's mission and supports these discoveries through fundraising."

Our national title sponsor TELUS continues to help generate public awareness and raise critical funds for T1D research. Since 2000, the TELUS team has contributed more than $9.5 million to JDRF. Thanks to supporters like TELUS, JDRF's CCTN (CCTN) has 13 active trials. Almost 4,000 TELUS team members, family and friends participated in the Walk across Canada and raised more than $465,000 in 2015 alone.

"As an organization committed to using technology to drive better health outcomes for all Canadians, we are proud to be actively involved in a community that is innovating to find a cure for type 1 diabetes," said Paul Lepage, President of TELUS Health. "The advancements in research and continued support for those living with type 1 diabetes would not be where it is today without the passion, commitment and fundraising support of each and every Canadian that has participated in a TELUS Walk."

"On behalf of JDRF and the more than 300,000 Canadians living with T1D, I would like to thank our sponsors -- TELUS, Sun Life Financial, OneTouch and our national supplier SunRype -- for their dedication and support. Together, I know we can turn type one into type none," said Prowten.

Using the official #IamtheType and #TELUSWalk hashtags, we will follow the excitement of thousands who are walking to accelerate diabetes research.

About JDRF Canada

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF's goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people's lives until we achieve a world without T1D. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure T1D. As the largest charitable supporter of T1D research, JDRF is currently sponsoring $530 million in scientific research in 18 countries. For more information, please visit jdrf.ca.

About JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network

The JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network (JDRF CCTN) is an initiative to accelerate solutions for the management, care, and cure of type 1 diabetes (T1D). The JDRF CCTN creates a strong clinical research network to develop and conduct leading-edge clinical trials in T1D and its complications, in order to accelerate delivery of the benefits of research advances to the community. Through funding from the Canadian Federal Government, JDRF and the WB Family Foundation, $36.9 million has been invested to accelerate the testing of new technologies and treatments benefiting Canadians and individuals around the world living with T1D and its complications. For more information, visit jdrf.ca/cctn.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T) (NYSE: TU) is Canada's fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.6 billion of annual revenue and 12.4 million subscriber connections, including 8.4 million wireless subscribers, 1.4 million residential network access lines, 1.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers and 1.0 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada's largest healthcare IT provider.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $440 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 6.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS' 11 Canadian community boards and 4 International boards have led the Company's support of grassroots charities and have contributed more than $54 million in support of over 4,900 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.