Sun Life Financial donates $26,000 to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, because life's brighter under Chihuly's Sun

MONTREAL, Dec. 19, 2013 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial is pleased to announce that it is donating $10 for each of its employees and advisors to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) to help keep Chihuly's glass sculpture entitled The Sun in Montreal. On behalf of our 1800 employees and 800 advisors in Quebec, we are giving $26,000 to the MMFA, the first major corporate donation to be made in response to the appeal launched by the museum last week.

"Sun Life Financial, its employees and its advisors are proud to be the first company to show such massive support for the museum's campaign to keep Chihuly's Sun in Montreal. It was a natural reaction for us.  After all, the sun is our symbol! We felt it was important to take concrete action to help the museum in its efforts to keep this magnificent work of art in our city. Who knows, The Sun may well become a new cultural icon for Montreal. What we can be sure of, however, is that it will definitely help the city to shine more brightly," said Isabelle Hudon, president, Sun Life Financial, Quebec.

"I'm thrilled with this spontaneous gesture of support from Sun Life Financial and its employees. It's touching, because just like the museum, Sun Life Financial was founded 150 years ago, and the social values of these two institutions have stood the test of time. The majority of the works in the MMFA's heritage collection were acquired thanks to the exemplary generosity of donors and collectors. In order for The Sun to remain in Montreal, we need Montrealers to give generously. The Sun will keep shining in Montreal… with help from the community and, in particular, from Sun Life Financial, its employees and its advisors, to whom I extend my thanks," stated the the MMFA's director and chief curator Nathalie Bondil.

Sun Life Financial employees are being asked to take photos of themselves "under the sun," and an album of their pictures will be put together and shared on social media as a way to further showcase this signature piece in the exhibition Chihuly: Utterly Breathtaking.

As part of its commitment to making culture and the arts more accessible, Sun Life Financial has chosen to lend its support to various large-scale initiatives, and its contribution to the purchase of Chihuly's The Sun on behalf of its employees and advisors is a concrete expression of that commitment. In this way we hope the sun will continue to shine in Montreal for years to come.

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2013, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of CDN$590 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol "SLF."

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Canada