TORONTO,
April 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Starting today,
Torontonians will have access to the city's first musical
instrument library - the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument
Lending Library. Sun Life Financial and the Toronto Public Library
have created this innovative free program that will provide
residents with the opportunity to borrow a variety of
instruments.
Guitars, ukuleles, violins and portable keyboards are among the
100 instruments available - donated by Sun Life Financial to
establish the program. Sun Life Financial has also created a
special series of short videos to assist individuals with the use,
care and enjoyment of the instruments. Whether you're a seasoned
musician in need of an instrument or a beginner looking to learn a
new skill, the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending
Library is the perfect program to ignite your musical
creativity.
This program is part of a national initiative that will see
similar musical lending libraries launched in cities across
Canada this spring. The Sun Life
Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library will be housed at
Parkdale Branch. All instruments
can be borrowed free of charge with a valid Toronto Public Library
card.
"We're so pleased that we can connect music lovers and learners
to instruments at the library, thanks to Sun Life Financial's
generous philanthropic donation," said Vickery Bowles, City Librarian at Toronto Public Library. "We know how much
music enriches life, but many Torontonians don't have ready access
to musical instruments for financial reasons. Programs such as this
one break down those barriers and connect people to wonderful
opportunities. I'm looking forward to hearing stories of the music
that people will be making thanks to the Sun Life Financial Musical
Instrument Lending Library."
Sun Life Financial believes that arts and culture should be
celebrated within our communities and made accessible to
individuals and families, regardless of their means - the focus of
its award-winning Making the Arts More Accessible™ program.
As such, Sun Life Financial has been a partner of the Toronto Public Library since 2007, supporting
the Sun Life Financial Museum + Arts Pass program.
"This new program is a natural extension of our support of music
education, bringing music into the homes of residents across the
city of Toronto," said
Paul Joliat, Assistant
Vice-President, Philanthropy and Sponsorships, Sun Life Financial.
"We wish to help bring the joy of music to more peoples'
lives."
The library will also be holding a Musical Instrument Donation
Drive running month-long until May
7th. Torontonians may drop off their new or
gently used musical instrument donations at Parkdale Branch and two participating Long
& McQuade locations in Toronto. Please visit tpl.ca/instrumentlending
for more information.
The Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library was
developed and executed in collaboration with Shaw Saltzberg of
NextStage Entertainment Ltd.
About Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is one of the world's busiest urban public
library systems. Every year, 19 million people visit library
branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow 32 million
items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit
torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131. To get
the most current updates on what's happening at the library, follow
@torontolibrary on Twitter.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth
products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun
Life Financial has operations in a number of 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 December
31, 2015, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had
total assets under management of $891
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.
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Canada