On June 25th, 20 members of the Watters Environmental team participated in the Heart & Stroke Big Bike Event. This event is held throughout GTA to raise awareness and funds for the Heart & Stroke Foundation which focuses heavily on scientific research and overall health awareness & promotion.
As a team we were able to raise $4,355, showing that charitable initiatives are worth pursuing regardless of the size of your company. This event was rewarding for us as a company for a number of reasons: not only did we raise money for a great cause, but it also provided us with the added benefit of giving the team a fun day out of the office. We had an incredible experience, and here are our Top 3 reasons why your company might want to participate in a charitable event like the Heart & Stroke Big Bike Event:
Strengthen your Company Culture
From start to finish, this event was geared towards collaboration & teamwork.
From working together as a team to organize and hold fundraising events, to peddling together in order to make the Big Bike actually move; this event showed each one of us what we are capable of doing when we set our minds to it. More importantly, what we can achieve when we all work together towards one unified goal.
This year we not only reached our fundraising goal of $2,500 – we doubled it. This was a feat we couldn’t have accomplished without the support and encouragement of our team members, clients, subcontractors, family, and friends. Thank you!
Support Personal Passions through Company Initiatives
Supporting charities is something our team members are passionate about, so when we got the opportunity to combine personal passion with our own company initiatives, it really made each team member more invested and committed to achieving our goal.
We chose to support the Heart & Stroke Foundation due to the fact that heart disease & stroke has affected the lives of so many Canadians, including some of our team members and their families.
What charity you choose to support depends on your individual team members and their passions, and should reflect your own company’s core values.
Create a FUN day with your Company
The day of the event was full of energy from the moment we arrived.
From the pre-biking games & warmup to the snacks and refreshments afterwards the day was full of positive energy from all the teams and participants. We peddled a giant 30 person bike down the streets of Vaughan (with police escorts) and had people wave/honk at us while we sang, danced, laughed, and of course…peddled. The ride had so many memorable moments, from when we sang along to Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” or when we realized that moving that bike up even a small incline was not as easy as we planned.
The team was full of energy when we returned to the office and the stories of that big bike ride are still shared today. Participating in an event like this is win-win; we supported the Heart & Stroke Foundation, and as a result our team has built stronger relationships with one another that pervades into our daily work tasks & projects.
If you would like more information regarding the Heart & Stroke Foundation or the Big Bike Event for your company, click the links below:
