SASKATOON -- Children attending St. Mary's community school on the last school day before Christmas holidays helped Cameco Corporation president and CEO Jerry Grandey take the wrapping off a symbolic cheque worth $500,000.

The cheque represents the total commitment made by Cameco to the planned St. Mary's Wellness and Education Centre which will replace the current aging school building. Cameco's donation will be delivered in two equal instalments in 2010 and 2011 as the new school construction proceeds.

The rebuilding of St. Mary's, a school located less than a kilometre from Cameco's corporate office, is part of a larger neighbourhood renewal project. The commitment reflects Cameco's interest in investing in the vitality of the communities in which we operate.

"Cameco believes in supporting youth, community and development and this project clearly aligns with that belief," Grandey told students at the gather. "We simply knew that this gift, this project, was the right thing to do."

Cameco's investment will help provide space for direct pediatric care as well as research into better health and wellness outcomes. The centre will serve children attending St. Mary's and nine other schools in Saskatoon's Catholic and public school.

"We're pleased to support this vital project, and to bring the opportunity for so many youth in this city to be able to enjoy the health, education and wellness benefits that many of us take for granted," Grandey told the gathering.

Cameco is particularly interested in investments which advance the health and educational services available to Saskatchewan aboriginal people who are key stakeholders in the province's uranium industry. Almost all of the children who attend St. Mary's are of aboriginal background.

For more details, please see a news release issued by the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.