QUEBEC CITY, March 24 /CNW Telbec/ - To celebrate its 150th anniversary in Quebec, TD is proud to team up with the Association forestière Québec métropolitain (AFQM) to provide $150,000 in funding which will be used to organize tree planting events in the Greater Quebec City region and Chaudière-Appalaches regions starting this spring.

In keeping with its mission to promote tree and woodland conservation and development in urban settings, and the rational use of natural forest resources, the AFQM will use TD's donation to enhance its "Tree Planting and Distribution" component. The new partnership will enable the AFQM to provide technical support to students of l'Étincelle de Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse school in planting almost 700 trees along the Boyer River and on municipality grounds. These trees are offered free of charge as part of the Mois de l'arbre et des forêts (Tree and Forest Month) by the ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, which is also a major financial partner of the project.

"Being from Quebec City myself, I am delighted by this new partnership with the AFQM," said Bernard Dorval, Group Head, Insurance and Global Development for TD Bank Financial Group. "This partnership is a continuation of TD's tradition of community involvement. It will not only help beautify the Greater Quebec City region, but also enhance the quality of the air we breathe!"

TD is a leader in corporate environmental practices and the environment is a main area of focus of its community giving. "The AFQM greatly appreciates TD's support through the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. It's an invaluable contribution, which highlights the quality and sustainability of planting initiatives in the community, to the benefit of society and the environment," said Véronique Audet, Chair of the Board of Directors of the AFQM. "This partnership will help us pursue our mission more effectively. For the AFQM, which cares deeply about nature and the preservation and promotion of trees and green spaces, the partnership fulfills an important need to the great pleasure of our organization and the community!"

To mark its 150th anniversary in Quebec, TD will hold its annual general shareholders' meeting in Quebec City on March 25th.

TD's donation to the AFQM coincides with the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation's (TD FEF) 20th anniversary. TD FEF is highly active in Quebec and since 1990 has provided approximately $900,000 to nearly 300 grassroots environment and wildlife projects in the province. For example, the organization Micro-Recyc-Coopération de Québec will receive financing from TD FEF to pay for teaching resources to promote recycling. The Micro-Recyc-Coopération program is designed to promote recycling on the 3R principle: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. In addition, with the Ducks Unlimited operation, TD FEF will help pay for educational resources to raise public awareness of the need to conserve and protect wetlands in the Quebec region. For more information, go to www.tdfef.com

TD Community Giving: Making a Difference Together

Children's health, literacy and education, and the environment are the three main areas of focus for TD's community giving. Flagship programs within these areas include: TD Children's Hospital Fund; TD Friends of the Environment Foundation; TD Canadian Children's Book Week; TD Canada Trust Scholarships for Community Leadership; and the TD Summer Reading Club. With support from customers and employees, TD is involved with a host of national, regional and local causes benefiting diversity, arts and culture and other community programs. In 2009, TD donated $37 million to more than 2500 organizations across Canada. The year 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of TD in Quebec. TD has built on a long tradition of quality client service and community involvement that dates back to the opening of the first branch of the Bank of Toronto in Quebec in 1860. Today, TD's Quebec presence includes over 4,000 employees and 125 offices and points of service, as well as significant investments in community programs.

About the Association forestière Québec métropolitain

The mission of the Association forestière Québec métropolitain, a non-profit organization founded in 1958 at Duschenay Forest Station, is to promote tree and woodland conservation and development in urban settings and the rational use of natural forest resources. This mission focuses on education and public awareness, particularly among young people.

*** Photos available upon request.