News Release

RBC Announces the Inaugural Race for the Kids in Minnesota

August 2 Race to benefit the Ronald McDonald House

MINNEAPOLIS (July 16, 2014) – RBC announces the title sponsorship of the RBC Race for the Kids Minnesota Half Marathon and 5K on August 2 to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest. This Minnesota event will feature a half marathon run or skate, a 5K run or walk, a duathlon (13.1 mile skate and 2.8 mile run), a relay-half marathon run and a kids run. The RBC Race for the Kids Minnesota Half Marathon is one of seven races that RBC sponsors worldwide to raise money for children’s charities. Now in its eleventh year, the Minnesota Half Marathon is produced by Podium Sports Marketing

The general public is invited to join RBC employees, families and friends to support the work of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest. Adults can skate the half marathon with Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, a participating sponsor through the Ryan and Becky Suter Foundation, or the Minnesota RollerGirls. Kids can enjoy spending time with Ronald McDonald and RBC’s Leo the Lion.

“RBC has a proud tradition of supporting the communities where we live and work,” said Tom Sagissor, north/central divisional director, RBC Wealth Management-U.S. “We’re excited to sponsor this event and take an active role in the wellbeing of kids here in the Twin Cities.”

“For 35 years, the Ronald McDonald House has relied on community support to provide a home away from home for families with children facing medical challenges,” said John Stanoch, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald Charities-Upper Midwest. “This incredible support from RBC and its employees makes it possible for us to continue keeping families together when it matters most.”

In addition to the Twin Cities, RBC sponsors six global Races to support kids. The movement started in 2009 with RBC Race for the Kids in New York City. A year later, RBC became the title sponsor of the Race for the Kids in London followed by Races in Toronto, Hong Kong and Chicago in 2013. In 2014, Sydney, Australia, will also host a Race.

Go to the RBC Race for the Kids website for registration information and details about the Minnesota event.

About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest bank, and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 16 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 42 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2013, we contributed more than $104 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $69 million and $35 million in sponsorships. Learn more at www.rbc.com/community-sustainability.

RBC Wealth Management, a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC.

About Podium Sports
The Podium Sports Marketing team has over 60 years of sports management experience and has produced 1,500 events. Founded in 1998 to generate revenue for the U.S. Speedskating Team, Podium has since evolved into a full- service sports marketing agency with a broad range of capabilities.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest
Founded in 1979, RMHC-UM is a non-profit organization that provides a home-away-from-home to keep families together during a child’s health crisis, when family matters most. We serve nearly 4,000 families each year at our three Twin Cities locations; Oak Street near the University of Minnesota campus, the House inside the Hospital at Children’s-Minneapolis and the Ronald McDonald Family Room at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul.

The families we serve come to the Twin Cities from across the region and across the globe, and because they are never asked to pay for our services – including lodging, food, and schooling – we rely on the generosity of the Twin Cities community to help us fulfill our mission.

Media Contacts:
Ann Wasik, RBC Wealth Management, 612-313-1275, ann.wasik@rbc.com
Kent Wipf, Podium Sports, kentwipf@yahoo.com
Elizabeth Norton, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Upper Midwest, 612-767-2783, enorton@rmhtwincities.org

Important disclosure information about Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and RBC Capital Markets, LLC