The MARS® Brand celebrates Canada's passion for hockey by supporting Community Rinks in Need!

MARS® PLAY YOUR PART™ campaign surprises all five participating rinks with $20,000.00 CDN EACH!!!!

TORONTO, Jan. 8, 2013 /CNW/ - The passion for hockey among Canadians is alive and well in the place where it all begins, community rinks. Following overwhelming participation by Canadians to unlock funds for rinks in need across the country, the makers of MARS® are happy to announce that a $20,000.00CDN contribution will be made to each of the community rinks that participated in the MARS® PLAY YOUR PART™ campaign.

"Hockey is still a major part of the daily lives of Canadians," says Aziz Shariff, marketing manager, Mars Canada Inc. "We are thrilled to see the response from Canadians in support of these community rinks! The makers of MARS® were committed to making a difference in these communities and we are proud that so many Canadians have stepped up with us to show their support and help unlock the funds!"

Over the holidays, the participating community rinks received a call and heard that they would each be receiving a $20,000CDN contribution! The exciting news came directly from the makers of MARS®.

"As someone who benefited from access to rinks growing up, I thought this was a great Campaign for the makers of MARS® to put on," says Canadian Hockey legend Wendel Clark, who helped deliver the good news to the public.

The launch of the MARS® PLAY YOUR PART™ campaign was the brand's next step on an exciting journey to create awareness and motivate as many Canadians as possible to get involved, and participate to help make a difference!

The MARS® PLAY YOUR PART™ promotion

Announced in September by the makers of MARS®, the PLAY YOUR PART™ campaign gave Canadians the opportunity to activate a $5 CDN Mars Canada Inc contribution towards participating community rinks in need of renovation by purchasing a specially marked MARS® bar and entering the PIN code found inside the wrapper at www.marsbar.ca.

Earlier in the year, with the help of Hockey Canada, the MARS® brand team identified five local community rinks and arenas from across the country whose individual stories were featured on www.marsbar.ca. Under the original campaign plans, each rink was set to benefit from a minimum Mars Canada Inc. contribution of $5,000 CDN, and could receive up to a maximum of $20,000 CDN towards hockey related improvements and renovations based on the additional unlocked funds.

Following an incredible response from Canadians, the makers of MARS® were able to make the full contribution of $20,000CDN to each of the participating rinks.

The five recipients

Mission Leisure Centre - Mission, British Columbia
Serving a community of 38,000, the Mission Leisure Centre is a hub for community recreation for both youth and adults, and caters to minor hockey league players, lacrosse players and ball hockey players. In 2014, the facility will play host to the 2014 B.C. Winter Games and will use their donation towards replacing the arena's score clock which is over 15 years old and has recently become quite unreliable.

Loreburn Recreation - Loreburn, Saskatchewan
Located in central Saskatchewan, Loreburn is a small community with a population of 100 people, and the local rink is shared with three other towns in the area. The facility has recently undergone improvements, such as the addition of two new dressing rooms for its arena. However, the donation will go towards finalizing this project as the floors in these new rooms still need completion along with painting and the addition of stick racks and door closures.

Western Fair Sports Centre - London, Ontario
Situated in the heart of the City of London, the Western Fair Sports Centre is the main tournament location for all sport groups operating there and the facility is used by local youth and adult hockey teams. Their donation will be going towards renovating Tony's Pizza rink (located within the facility) which will allow the centre to open its doors to all athletes by creating more accessibility for people with disabilities.

Jean-Charles-Perreault Arena - Warwick, Quebec
The Jean-Charles-Perreault Arena services more than 11,000 residents and caters to both Warwick and several other surrounding towns. The arena is considered to be a very important public service within the community and a major facilitator to local sports. The arena will be using their donation to complete a variety of immediate renovations such as replacing the flooring in the players' room and the main aisle, making changes to the entrance, replacing the façade and updating the multifunctional room.

Marsh Lake Community Centre - Marsh Lake, Yukon
Located one hour south of Whitehorse, Yukon, the Marsh Lake Community Centre is at the heart of this community. The arena is actively used year-round and maintained by community members and volunteers of the Marsh Lake Fire and Rescue Society. With these funds the facility will be resurfacing the rink among other planned improvements including replacing two of the doors on the dasher board system, adding a puck board and sill plates to the rink, and installing two player/spectator benches to the facilities to maximize user and community enjoyment.

"We were thrilled at the overwhelming response from Canadians and Mars Canada Inc.'s ability to contribute $20,000CDN to each rink," said Mike Ross, chief business officer with Hockey Canada. "Better rinks around the country are key to creating a welcoming environment for first-time players and families, and helps make the game more accessible, to more Canadians."

To learn more about the MARS® brand and the MARS® PLAY YOUR PART™ campaign, please visit www.marsbar.ca for full details. To learn more about Hockey Canada, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca.

About Mars Canada Inc.

Mars Canada Inc. is a division of Mars Incorporated, a private family-owned company founded in 1911 that employs 70,000 associates at more than 300 sites in 75 countries generating revenues of over $30 billion annually. Headquartered in Bolton, Ontario, Mars Canada Inc. employs more than 750 associates at three sites, including three manufacturing facilities. The company owns some of the world's leading brands, including UNCLE BEN'S® Rice, MARS®, M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, MALTESERS®, chocolate products, PEDIGREE®, CESAR® and WHISKAS® petcare products.

About Hockey Canada

Hockey Canada is the governing body for hockey in Canada and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), with a membership through its 13 provincial branch associations of over 700,000 players, coaches and officials. Hockey Canada is a not-for-profit organization that creates leading-edge hockey development programs for its members to deliver in communities across Canada, provides consistent rules and regulations and various other membership services from coast to coast, manages numerous regional, national and international hockey championships and events, and leads the operation of all teams that represent Canada in international hockey competition. Hockey Canada's mission is to "lead, develop and promote positive hockey experiences."

SOURCE: Mars Canada Inc.