Moncton, March 19, 2008 – Young Anglophone and Francophone students from the Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint-John regions have an opportunity to showcase their creative talent—and win cash awards—during the 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest.

The Frye Festival in Moncton, New Brunswick promotes the pleasure and discovery of reading by bringing together local, national and international authors with public audiences of all ages, creating an annual bilingual celebration of words. The Festival includes an annual student writing contest.

Students are eligible to win cash prizes of $500, $300, and $100 for their writing efforts. In addition, each entry entitles the student’s school to enter its name to win $500 it can allocate to the purchase of new books.

The Writing Contest, which for the first time will feature creative writing as well as essay topics, is open to high school students from District 1 and 2 in the Moncton region as well as Districts 11, 8 and 18. Participants must submit a 400-800 word prose selection on a variety of specific subjects. Prizes of $500, $300, and $100 will be awarded in each of the Anglophone and Francophone categories. In all, approximately $4,200 will be awarded through the contest.

The 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest is sponsored by Great-West Life and London Life, through The Key to Giving™ – the national corporate citizenship program of Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life. Through The Key to Giving, the companies contribute to non-profit, charitable and community organizations across the country to address health and wellness, education, social services, arts and culture and civic initiatives.

The Key to Giving program also supports the volunteer involvement of staff and financial security advisors in their efforts to meet the needs of the communities in which they live and work. In fact, it was the Moncton-area staff and financial security advisors from Great-West Life and Freedom 55 Financial who first championed the 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest as a great fit for The Key to Giving program. Freedom 55 Financial is the financial security planning division of London Life.

As Blair Hayden, Regional Director, Great-West Life explains, “The 2008 Frye Festival Writing Contest offers an ideal opportunity for high school students to develop their creativity and self-confidence—qualities that will serve them well in whatever careers they choose for themselves.”

Rick Watt, Regional Director, Freedom 55 Financial, agrees, adding that “language and writing skills are an important element in personal growth and career success. Freedom 55 Financial and Great-West Life are proud to help offer students an opportunity to develop their creative and writing abilities.”