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Friday, July 13, 2001
MTT Pioneers and UCCB Venturefest Students deliver 21 computers to five Cape Breton community youth organizations

Sydney, Nova Scotia – The hard work and IT savvy of University College of Cape Breton (UCCB) Senior High Venturefest students and MTT Pioneers paid off today when they delivered 21 computers to five Cape Breton community youth organizations.

MTT Pioneers donated their time and computers to the Venturefest program that included a computer restoration workshop. MTT Pioneers provided each student with their own computer and a chance to pull the computer apart, wipe the hard drive clean and put it back together again. Twenty-one of these restored computers are being donated to the Glace Bay Youth Centre Association, The United Mission Youth Centre, Children’s Aid Society of Cape Breton, Community CARES Youth Outreach and the NADACA Boys and Girls Club.

“MTT, an Aliant company is committed to youth and educational initiatives”, said Dave DeMone, Regional Manager, MTT. “Giving students the opportunity to learn new IT skills, rebuild a PC and then donate it to a youth organization in our community is a positive experience for everyone.”

MTT, an Aliant company contributed $20,000 to the 2001 UCCB Venturefest program. This program is an innovative; IT related summer program for youth in elementary, junior and senior high schools. The Venturefest program is an exciting combination of entrepreneurship, science, and technology in an environment of fun, friendship and recreation. Hundreds of participants have already enjoyed the adventures experienced through hands-on activities, workshops, fieldtrips, presentations and more.

“The MTT Pioneer Program was a great chance to get to know the computer and how it works,” said Blair Touesnard, Venturefest student from Dundee, NS. “I am proud to say that the computer I worked on will be donated to a community group on the Island."

The week-long junior and senior high camps allows the teens a chance to experience staying in a university college residence. This year’s junior high camp is designed for aboriginal students. Elementary Venturefest is a week-long, half day camp offering two levels of programming for students; one level is for students in grades one to three and the other is for those in grades four to six.

UCCB, Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, Aboriginal Business Canada, and Eskasoni Economic Development also support this year’s program.

About MTT:
MTT, an Aliant company as part of Aliant Telecom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aliant Inc. Aliant Inc. (TSE:AIT) is one of Canada's top high-tech companies, providing integrated communications and IT solutions through subsidiaries operating worldwide. By combining industry-leading expertise from across the group of companies, Aliant utilizes the Aliant PremiumTM Model to deliver unique, end-to-end solutions to customers. With 10,000 employees and a market capitalization of almost $5 billion, Aliant ranks in the top 100 publicly traded companies in the country. More information on Aliant may be found on our Website at www.aliant.ca.

About MTT Pioneers:
Founded in 1911, the Pioneers organization is comprised of 84 chapters operating in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The MTT Pioneers, part of the 8,000 plus Aliant Pioneers, strive to foster healthy communities by emphasizing educational initiatives and projects that compliment Aliant’s growth as an Internet focused company. In addition, MTT Pioneers serve their communities through numerous programs including improving quality of life for the disabled to preserving the environment. This year the Aliant Pioneers have pledged over 150,000 volunteer hours in Atlantic Canada. To learn more about the Pioneer organization visit www.telephone-pioneers.org

About UCCB:
An Atlantic Canadian leader, UCCB provides opportunities and partnerships to help learners and communities meet educational, cultural and economic goals. UCCB education, training and discovery models have helped shape the progress of this region and its people for more than 25 years. The UCCB campus, located on scenic Cape Breton Island, is home to a diverse learner population pursuing a broad range of degree, diploma, certificate and trades training options in an integrated learning environment. An impressive record of industrial outreach and an expanding distance education offering complement existing academic and skills training strengths.

For more information contact:

Mike Kelloway
Program Coordinator
University College of Cape Breton
Tel. (902) 563-1648
Cell: (902) 537-1287
E-mail: mkelloway@uccb.ns.ca

Dawn Boylan
Community Relations Manager
MTT, an Aliant company
Tel. (902) 487-4738
Cell: (902) 497-4204
E-mail: dawn.boylan@aliant.ca

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