The Musical Instrument Lending Library program - Montréal libraries gifted 100 new musical instruments by Sun Life Financial

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 6, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Six additional Montréal libraries will benefit from the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library program. Thanks to a donation of 100 new instruments valued at $30,000, patrons of the Roxboro, Frontenac, Père-Ambroise, Mordecai-Richler, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Robert-Bourassa branches will be able to check out instruments free of charge. Sun Life Financial is also donating $140,000 to extend the program through October 2020.

In total, 19 libraries in 15 boroughs will provide Montreal area residents with guitars, violins, ukuleles, keyboards, drums and xylophones.

Bibliothèques de Montréal maintains a collection of 330 musical instruments and around 30 instruments are used for local cultural activities. Over two years, participating libraries have made 3,000 musical instrument loans and received over 5,000 instrument reservations. The Musical Instrument Lending Library program augments the libraries' current music collections, which include CDs and sheet music.

Instrument loans were initially offered in eight libraries beginning in 2016. Thanks to the continuous generosity of Sun Life Financial, the popular service was expanded to five other libraries in the Ville de Montréal library system.

"The popularity of instrument loans shows how relevant this program is to our residents. The program is made possible thanks to the generosity of Sun Life Financial, whom I thank profusely. The program is also a testament to the diversity of services offered by our libraries and their contribution to the cultural and artistic vitality of our neighbourhoods," said Christine Gosselin, Ville de Montréal executive committee member responsible for culture, design and heritage.

"We believe that culture and the arts must be promoted within our communities and should be made accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial means. This is the main goal of our national Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library program and we are excited to share the joy of music by expanding to even more Montreal libraries," said Robert Dumas, President and CEO, Sun Life Financial Québec.

Sun Life Financial's community involvement

At Sun Life Financial, we are committed to building sustainable, healthier communities for life and we're proud to hold the Caring Company designation from Imagine Canada. Community wellness is an important part of our sustainability commitment and we believe that by actively supporting the communities in which we live and work, we can help build a positive environment for our clients, employees, advisors and shareholders. Our philanthropic support focuses on two areas: health, with an emphasis on diabetes awareness, prevention, care and research initiatives through our Team Up Against DiabetesTM platform; and arts and culture, through our award-winning Making the Arts More AccessibleTMprogram. In addition, in Quebec, our sponsorships and donations are also focused on home economics and financial education.

We also partner with sports properties in key markets to further our commitment to healthy and active living. Our employees and advisors take great pride in volunteering over 29,000 hours each year and contribute to making life brighter for individuals and families across Canada.

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Cabinet de la mairesse et du comité exécutif