The staff, corporate partners, and friends of CIBC FirstCaribbean showed up in multitudes this past Sunday to join the fight for life at the bank’s 4th Annual Walk for the Cure.

The yearly fun walk kicks off the bank’s Breast Cancer Month activities and is the climax of two months of awareness and fundraising events organized for the benefit of local Cancer organizations: Sister-to-Sister Breast Cancer Support Group, The Cancer Association of Grand Bahama, The One Eleuthera Foundation and the Cancer Societies in Abaco, Eleuthera, and New Providence.

This marked the first year that the Walk for the Cure was open to Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera, making a big difference on registration numbers, which doubled from last year’s 475 to more than 1,000 registrants. The family island walks which were rescheduled due to hurricane Joaquin, continue to see their registration numbers climb.  The walks will now be held in Grand Bahama on Saturday, October 17, and in Abaco and Eleuthera on October 31, all at 7am.

It was a sunny day in Nassau when the event kicked off at 6:30AM at the Goodman’s Bay Corporate Center with a warm up from Jay Fitness. By 7:00AM, the 500 plus walkers were at the starting line rearing to go. Upon their return, walkers kept loose with Zumba by Jubilee Studio or cooled down with celebrated fitness expert Natasha Brown. CIBC FirstCaribbean also hosted a Cancer Awareness and Health Fair. Booths provided information on healthy lifestyle, early cancer detection, health insurance tips, and other pertinent wellness topics.

Walkers were invited to join in praise and worship honoring survivors; the Seventh Day Adventist Church and Living Waters Ministries offered prayers for survivors and Pastor Shawn McKenzie of Sunrise Ministries delivered a sermon of hope. 7 year old Cancer survivor Zion Knowles inspired the crowd with her story and lead a “Ribbons in the Sky” tribute, for those who have lost the fight.

CIBC FirstCaribbean’s efforts in Bahamas have raised over $70,000 thus far for local cancer charities. Throughout the month of October, the bank will continue to host events to support the cause, including the Combat Cancer Challenge, a team-based fitness challenge scheduled for October 17th. For more information on this event, email nakera.symonette@cibcfcib.com.

CIBC FirstCaribbean Managing Director Marie Rodland-Allen was thrilled with the turn out and thanked all who helped to make the day a great success.

“Our Walk for the Cure event was a resounding success!” said Mrs. Rodland-Allen.  “Almost 700 persons walked and approximately $70,000 raised in the Bahamas to date which is almost double the size it was last year. A big 'thanks' to all who participated, especially our employees, their families, our corporate sponsors and media who joined forces with CIBC FirstCaribbean for such a worthy cause!”

Trevor Torzsas, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Managing Director of Customer Relationship, Management and Strategy echoed Mrs. Rodland-Allen, stating that the event was a hit across the Caribbean.

“Together we did it!” said Mr. Torzsas. “Across the region we are getting reports of record numbers of people turning out to walk, as many as 20,000 people total, and it looks like we will approach $350,000 raised! Thank you to everyone involved!!”

He continued. “We see this event getting bigger each year and are excited about the future, as we raise funds to assist those affected by cancer. Our fundraising efforts continue through October 31st; just drop into any CIBC FirstCaribbean Branch or donate through Internet Banking.  We also hope you join us at our Combat Cancer Obstacle Course Challenge on October 17th.”

Excellent participation from members of the business community boosted CIBC FirstCaribbean’s totals significantly this year. Sandals Resorts and Deloitte signed on as Regional Platinum Sponsors for a second consecutive year and Aetos Holdings Limited, who sponsored locally, was new to the Platinum line up. Gold Sponsors were UPS, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas.

McKinney Bancroft & Hughes, Hard Rock Café, Restaurants Bahamas, Rubis, Graham Thompson Attorneys, Fujitsu, BTC and Caribbean Bottling Bahamas Limited signed on as Silver Sponsors. And Bronze Sponsors were Atlantic Medical, Chefy’s Deli and Grill, John Bull, Colina, BAF Financial, The Family Medicine Center, MP Law Chambers, Itel BPO Solutions (Grand Bahama), Wemco Security, Damianos, Subway (Grand Bahama) Massy United Insurance, TATA Consultancy Services, El Shaddai Party Rentals & Supplies, Munroe’s Landscaping, Guardsman, Elite Security Agency, Valentines Resort and Marina, Warren Grant Photography, Bahamas Waste, Gippy’s Printing, The Ultimate You Fitness & Wellness Center and Australian Gold.

Walk for the Cure is a regional event with local iterations in each of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s 17 locations throughout the Caribbean. The funds raised from each local walk are presented to a series of local and regional organizations at the forefront of the cancer fight in each territory.

Members of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Walk for the Cure organizing team

Walkers at the CIBC FirstCaribbean Walk for the Cure.

Participants of the Walk for the Cure, ready to do their part to fight cancer.

Diabetes Education Network was one of the many vendors distributing health and wellness tips at the Walk for the Cure Health Fair.

Alarice Ifill, Vice President at UPS finishes up her walk at Walk for the Cure. UPS was a Gold Sponsor this year.

Young survivor Zion Knowles leads the “Ribbons in the Sky” tribute to those that have lost the fight with cancer.