Suncor Energy one-day blitz kicks off holiday fundraising campaign to help food bank

CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/30/11 -- Editor's Note: There are 5 photos and 1 video associated with this release.

Suncor Energy collected more than 3,700 food items and nearly $1,200 to support the Calgary Food Bank and their hunger-relief efforts at the launch of its holiday fundraising campaign.

Kicking off the day's activities was HolidayStruction, a collaborative event which saw Suncor Energy Centre volunteers construct a life-size nutcracker out of cans of food. The sculpture took nearly eight hours to build and used over 3,700 cans. All of the cans used to create the nutcracker will be donated to the Calgary Food Bank prior to the Christmas holiday.

'When developing the blueprint for our nutcracker, we tried to select cans that not only had the right colour to make the design work, but were also on the list of staple food items most needed by the Calgary Food Bank,' said Brent Rowat, senior program manager of Information Systems at Suncor Energy. 'Food Bank clients deserve the same quality of food that we do and we wanted to make sure what was being donated from this nutcracker contributed to the overall nutritional value of food hampers.'

In addition to the life-size nutcracker construction project, Suncor Energy employees and tenants of the Suncor Energy Centre paid $10 for three chances to put one past the Calgary Hitmen. Successful goal scorers were entered for a chance to win a pair of Calgary Hitmen season tickets. Also available for Hitmen fans was a silent auction featuring signed sticks and two custom-designed Teddy Bear Toss jerseys autographed by the team. The winning bid for these jerseys was $175. All money donated will be used by the Calgary Food Bank to help make the holiday season a little brighter for individuals and families in need.

'This is just the beginning of the festive activities that we have planned for this year's CBC Calgary Suncor Energy Food Bank Drive,' said Joanne Manser, advisor Community Investment. 'We've set an ambitious target this year, but with the support of our employees, partners and the Calgary community, I'm confident that we can achieve this goal and provide the Food Bank with the resources they need to continue feeding our fellow Calgarians.'

Suncor Energy Inc. is Canada's premier integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. While working to responsibly develop petroleum resources, Suncor is also developing a growing renewable energy portfolio. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.

The Suncor Energy Foundation is a private, non-profit charitable foundation established to receive Suncor's contributions and support registered Canadian charitable organizations. Funded entirely by Suncor, the Foundation seeks unique opportunities to build sustainable communities through effective collaborations and to enhance the quality of life in key operating areas. To help communities achieve greater sustainability, the Suncor Energy Foundation has developed five integrated funding priorities which include cultivating community leaders, building skills and knowledge, inspiring innovation, engaging citizens and collaborating for our energy future. Since its inception in 1998, the Foundation has contributed more than $74 million to Canadian communities.

For more information about Suncor Energy Inc. and our community investment program, please visit our web site at www.suncor.com/community.

To view photos from HolidayStruction and the Calgary Hitmen Shootout Challenge, please visit the following link:

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111130-1130su1_b.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111130-1130su2_b.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111130-1130su3_b.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111130-1130su4_b.jpg

http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111130-1130su5_b.jpg

To view a time-lapse video of the HolidayStruction build, please visit the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZVGUDAjsJ0

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