Regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean is set to launch its annual fight against cancer with a major fundraising drive which has so far raised US$110, 000 regionally, a full two months ahead of the official Walk for the Cure fundraising events held the first weekend in October in the 17 territories where the bank has a presence.

Walk for the Cure is now in its fourth year, and in the first three years raised approximately US$330,000 to support critical cancer care, purchase vital equipment to treat patients and host general education programmes to create greater awareness of the disease across the region.

This year, the bank aims to almost double last year’s total and raise an additional US$300,000. Over the past months, staff across the region, have been reaching out to many corporate partners who have been pledging their support to the cause. They have also held a number of internal and external fundraising events which have already secured US$110,000.

For the third year running the bank’s Barbados business has partnered with the Breast Screening Programme of the Barbados Cancer Society to stage the Walk For the Cure event which will be officially launched on Friday August 28th, 2015 at 10 a.m. at the Bougainvillea Beach Resort, Maxwell, Christ Church.

Last year, the local walk attracted record numbers and raised close to $80 000 for the Breast Screening Programme. This year’s walk is expected to be even more exciting with a number of new features being added.

Co-Chairs for this year’s walk, CIBC FirstCaribbean Executives, Trevor Torzsas and Mark St. Hill, praised the fund-raising efforts of the bank’s staff and the enthusiastic support of the business community who have been coming on board as sponsors.

“This time last year we hadn’t even started to track our fund-raising,” Torzsas said. “We are getting a real head-start and are on the path to make an even bigger difference in 2015. This year the enthusiasm of our people is even greater and some of our countries started their fund-raising immediately after last year’s event. We’ve seen the result through this fantastic achievement with more than a month to go”, he added.

The walk, benefiting cancer organizations throughout the region, will take place over the weekend of October 4 and 5, 2015 and will unite over 10,000 passionate participants in 17 countries in which the bank operates, in a demonstration of their commitment to assisting those affected by cancer.

The bank has partnered with several cancer organizations for the walk. Employees of the bank are currently engaged in a series of fundraising activities in branches and continue to give generously of their time and money in support of the cause.

The public and corporate sponsors have also been given the opportunity to support through donations made in special accounts in every Caribbean country where the bank operates. Customers can go to any CIBC FirstCaribbean branch around the region and make a contribution.

The walk is also held to coincide with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s CIBC Run for the Cure sponsored by the bank’s parent company, CIBC. CIBC has been supporting this event for more than 20 years, donating millions to breast cancer research in Canada.