TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 12/08/12 --

Attention: News and Photo Desks

Canadian Bronze Medal Figure Skaters Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier will join 200 kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto for their annual Holiday Party. Skate To Great will be providing skates to the Little Brothers and Little Sisters in attendance at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday December 8th as Skate To Great launches their Winter Skate Drive.

Program on Saturday, December 8th, 2012                                     
                                                                            
When:   12:30pm Kids lace-up                                                
        1pm Canadian Bronze Medal Figure Skaters Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier
        performing their exhibition routine.                                
Where:  Mattamy Athletic Centre (Formerly Maple Leaf Gardens), Ice Level    
        (3rd Floor)                                                         
        60 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1L1                         
Who:    200 Kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto will be outfitted 
        with Skates.                                                        
        Canadian Bronze Medal Figure Skaters Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier    

Media note: Media is invited for 12:30pm and to refrain from featuring kids with red wristbands on camera. This event is sanctioned by Skate Canada.

About Skate To Great

Skate To Great is a not-for-profit organization that pairs new and used donated skates and equipment with deserving children and at-risk youth.

The charity began last March when two friends, both passionate about skating while attending University, saw the need for every child in Canada to be able to enjoy ice skating. Support quickly came from FedEx Express Canada, StorageMart, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and Ryerson University's Digital Media Zone to help collect and distribute new and gently used skates and helmets for the kids.

December 8th marks the launch of national donation sites across Canada including cities such as: Vancouver, Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Lethbridge, Hamilton, Barrie, London, Windsor plus many more. Skate To Great is also creating funding to the organizations they work with to support the cost of new helmets and volunteer background checks for volunteers working with kids.

Skate To Great will become a household name throughout North America by 2014. The organization is continuously seeking additional assistance, volunteers and resources. For more information on volunteering, please email volunteer@skatetogreat.org.

Special thanks goes out to FedEx Express Canada who has kindly donated $5000 for helmets and select skates for the children.

For more information visit:                                                 
Skate to Great:                    www.skatetogreat.org                     
Facebook:                          www.facebook.com/skatetogreat            
Twitter:                           www.twitter.com/skatetogreat             
Youtube:                           www.youtube.com/skatetogreat             
                                                                            
Big Brothers and Big Sisters:      www.bbbst.com                            
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier:       www.skatetoday.com/gilles-poirier        
                                                                            
Ryerson Digital Media Zone:        http://digitalmediazone.ryerson.ca       
                                                                            
Skate To Great Supporters:                                                  
www.fedex.ca                                                                
www.lowes.ca                                                                
www.storagemart.com                                                         

Another event will take place on December 22nd at Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay West) where Skate To Great will be on hand collecting skates from 8-11pm thanks to the gracious support of 1 Love TO. The event will have free skating, hot chocolate and music by DJ DLUX.