TORONTO - As other companies are cutting back, Molson is proud to devote $275,000 to the National Mentoring Program. The first program of its kind in North America, the NMP matches top students from university business schools with corporate business mentors and employs them in Canadian charities.

"Tough times call for new creative approaches in all business processes; community investing is no different," says Scott Ewart, Chief Legal and Public Affairs at Molson. "At Molson, we are proud to have been working with the NMP since its inception four years ago. Molson not only believes in mentoring, but we also believe in the concrete business benefits through networking that this program provides our company."

Research on the project conducted through 2008 demonstrated that Molson received three major benefits from their participation in this unique mentorship program: an increase in their own employees' leadership abilities; heightened consumer confidence in Molson; and an increase in loyalty to Molson from both employees and consumers.

The benefit to charities is obvious and is the reason why there is a waiting list of nonprofits wanting to participate in the NMP: charities get the benefit of the energy, talent and knowledge of the next generation of corporate leaders; they network with corporations and universities; and they create a stronger business infrastructure thanks to the generous support of Molson Canada.

"Philanthropy is a really attractive lure to use as a recruiting tool for your business," says Janis Sternhill, Coordinator of Volunteer Services at Baycrest, a National Mentoring Program charity. "Like Molson, we know that recent university graduates have community service records - we know because they volunteer with us. When they graduate, they seek employers who support their interest in the community. We applaud Molson's investment in mentoring and we are proud to be a National Mentoring charity."

Three universities are partners with Molson and the National Mentoring Program in this project: Queen's School of Business, Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University, where the NMP is based.

"Through mentoring, this program utilizes students and is built around their need to experience real-life learning to inspire action. With Molson's support, Dalhousie Commerce Co-op students will be a catalyst for change in not-for-profits," says David Wheeler, Dean of Management at Dalhousie. "We are proud to be associated with Molson and the National Mentoring Program."

Attached to the press release are examples of the projects that students have submitted to participate in the project.