A cheque for $90,000 raised from last year’s walk was presented to Breast Friends and the hospital’s Oncology Department in February
Excitement is building amid planning for this year’s edition of the Caribbean’s largest cancer fundraiser, CIBC Caribbean’s Walk for the Cure.
Walk managers across the bank’s 11-member footprint have been meeting with their committees and fine-tuning this year’s fundraising activities aimed at surpassing the more than US$450,000 raised in support of cancer care and support organisations across the region last year.
In addition to donations and sponsorship, other fundraising activities held around the region include Paint for the Cure, Hike for the Cure and Golf for the Cure.
“Since its modest beginning in 2012, Walk for the Cure has raised over US$4 million across our regional footprint. Every penny raised and donated has been shared among cancer care organisations and charities committed to the prevention and early detection of the disease, to education and outreach, and to the care of persons with cancer and their families that are impacted,” said Mark St Hill, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Chair of its charitable arm, the FirstCaribbean ComTrust Foundation, which hosts the walk along with regional partners.
He praised staff members who eagerly volunteer every year to ensure the walk comes off successfully, saying, “Your efforts, strengthened by the scores of dedicated corporate sponsors and individual contributions, have seen us make a real difference in the lives of persons with cancer, their families and care givers. It is not an exaggeration when I say that your collective efforts have saved lives.”
Funds generated from the walk are used primarily to assist with the purchase and maintenance of equipment used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.
They are also used to provide assistance, care and counselling to patients and their families as well as to raise awareness, and stress the importance of early detection, through education campaigns across the region.