Richard Nesbitt, CEO of TSX Group Inc. and Gerry McCaughey, president and COO of CIBC will be playing close attention to handy words like “em”, “xenon” and “quoit” as Frontier College launches its inaugural SCRABBLE Night in Canada Corporate Challenge, on Tuesday, April 5 in the CBC Barbara Frum Atrium in Toronto.

Both men are on the board of directors of Frontier College, which provides literacy programs for Canadians.

The SCRABBLE Night in Canada Corporate Challenge invites representatives from the financial and professional services industry to enter a team of four to play in this hockey-themed event in support Frontier College. The winning team will celebrate with the TSX Cup.

According to the International Adult Literacy Survey, almost half of Canadian adults do not read and write well enough to do everyday tasks.

“We are proud to sponsor this event and the continued excellent work of Frontier College,” said Nesbitt. “Frontier College’s grassroots support reaches many people of need right across the country.”

Frontier College has been providing literacy training for more than 100 years. Originally, it dispatched university students as labourer-teachers working in logging camps, rail gangs and other frontier sites. Today, its programs reach out to resource-poor neighbourhoods and new immigrant communities.