Focused effort and creative initiatives including the "Walk for the Cure" event have resulted in record-breaking fundraising amounts by CIBC FirstCaribbean management and staff. The bank's fundraising events, which began in September and continued through October 31, raised $42,583 in The Bahamas, contributing to the regional total of $198,661 for cancer patient care organizations and surpassing the previous two year's figures combined.
In the bank's third year of fundraising for the cause and observance of October as Cancer Awareness Month, the "Walk for the Cure" event produced the most money and brought together many people affected directly and indirectly by the pervasive disease.
CIBC FirstCaribbean Managing Director for Customer Relationship Management and Strategy and Co-Chair of the event Trevor Torzsas initiated the event throughout The Bahamas' bank network and in the Caribbean three years ago. He took his lead from the bank's parent company's successful fundraiser, "Run for the Cure" in Canada.
"We initiated the event throughout our branch network to do some good for the communities where we live and serve," said Torzsas. "Everybody has been touched by cancer, whether in their family or amongst their friends."
Since its regional launch, the event has been growing exponentially, in participation and funds raised. With each passing year, the bank has expanded the activities and ways to give. The increased accessibility has made a noticeable impact on the final numbers.
"In our inaugural year, we raised $30,000 across the Caribbean from just employees and their networks," said Torzsas. "By our second year, the event started to take root. The teams got more involved; we began decorating the branches, clients began asking to donate, and we raised close to $107,000. This year, our third year, we passed last year's numbers early out of the gate. Clients were enabled to donate through online banking and for the first time we invited our corporate clients to sponsor. We have now surpassed $335,000 raised in our first three years regionally."
Opening up walker participation to the public for "Walk for the Cure" and engaging corporate sponsors made a marked difference on numbers in The Bahamas, which increased from last year's 290 registrations to a whopping 462.
Funds raised in The Bahamas will benefit several local cancer organizations: Sister Sister Breast Cancer Support Group; The Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative Foundation; and the Cancer Societies in Abaco, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama and New Providence.
The funds raised in each country or territory are donated to one or more local cancer support charities in each, selected by CIBC FirstCaribbean to affect the greatest impact in the communities they serve. Torzsas said that the model of distribution was chosen to address each country's area of greatest need.
"The great thing about proceeds from Walk for the Cure is that it does not address just one cause or type of cancer," he said. "Within the different Caribbean countries where we hold fundraisers, different cancers are prevalent. Breast cancer is a serious issue here, but prostate cancer is very high in Jamaica, for example. We allocate the funds for the greatest local impact in each territory. We try to focus on detection, treatment and care because there are so many who do not have access to these essentials."
Next year, CIBC FirstCaribbean intends to make donating and participating even more accessible with plans to launch a website to enable online donations and sponsorship from clients and non-clients alike. Torzsas says that this year's numbers and enthusiasm were an encouragement for next year, and he is already looking forward to 2015's events.
"We are already excited about the walk for next year. It's heartwarming to see the snowball effect we have created. Even at our Walk for the Cure event, people were stopping us on the street to ask how they can contribute and get involved next year. I look forward to seeing how this wonderful project grows."
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
