Sun Life Financial proudly supports Culture Days in Canada

The art of partnership continues to ignite enthusiasm

TORONTO, May 9 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial is proud to be the Lead Founding Visionary Partner of Culture Days, a distinctive Canadian, grassroots volunteer movement to raise the awareness, accessibility, participation and engagement of all Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. Sun Life's passion for culture and the arts makes the Company's involvement with this grassroots movement a natural fit.

"Since signing on last year as Lead Founding Visionary Partner, we have been delighted by Culture Days' ambition and by the enthusiasm with which the movement has been received across Canada," said Tom Bogart, Chair of Culture Days' Council of Corporate Champions & Executive VP of Sun Life Financial. "Because Culture Days helps raise the profile of artists and cultural organizations of all types in communities across Canada, the movement provides a tremendous opportunity for businesses to make a valuable contribution to nurturing Canada's creative talent and increasing accessibility to arts and culture. We are very pleased to continue our involvement with the ongoing growth of Culture Days and I urge other organizations to support this distinctly Canadian movement."

The first annual Culture Days event was held in September 2010 in over 700 Canadian cities and towns and, by all accounts, was a great success. The 2011 Culture Days weekend will take place September 30, October 1 and 2, 2011. Annual, Canada-wide Culture Days events feature free, hands-on interactive activities that invite the public to participate "behind the scenes," to discover the world of artists, creators, historians, architects, curators, and designers at work in their community.

Whether you want to register an activity or access tools that will help plan your Culture Days weekend, The Culture Days website is a great place to start. Watch Tom Bogart talk more about Sun Life's partnership with Culture Days.

You may also read Culture Days' news release, Culture Days unveils plans for second annual Canada-wide celebration of arts and culture, which was released earlier today.

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. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2011, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $469 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 the ticker symbol SLF.

Note to Editors: All figures in Canadian dollars.