Cyclists double ‘Cycle for Wishes’ fundraising goal

A team of cyclists set to cycle from Toronto to Ottawa and comprised of members of the insurance industry are nearly at their fundraising goal for the Make-A-Wish Canada foundation.
The ‘Cycle for Wishes’ team is peddling the 500 kilometres between the two cities over four days in hopes of raising $40,000 for Make-A-Wish Canada. The ride departs Toronto on Sept. 14 and arrives in Ottawa on Sept. 17. The finish line will be at the ‘Highlander Pub’ where Integro Insurance Brokers will be hosting its RIMS Canada conference kick-off pub night.
John Haas, the initiative’s team leader and the managing principal at Integro Insurance’s Canadian office, explains that initially the fundraising goal was $20,000 but response from the industry has been so positive the team doubled the goal to $40,000. Currently, they have raised $37,000.
A spokesperson for Make-A-Wish’s Toronto office said it’s the largest third party fundraising effort that she has seen.
Haas explains that the team wanted to select a charity to benefit both cities. And as RIMS Canada moves from city to city across the country, he hopes that insurance industry members in the host regions follow suit to make it an annual event.
“It’s been truly a team effort, right down to the different cyclists and the key sponsors that have gotten involved,” said Haas. “It started out as an idea on a Sunday morning and grew into something bigger than I could have imagined, and it’s because everyone is really working together for this cause.”
The riders include:
* Debbie Oleskiw, Zurich, TO;
* Kelly Tomenson, Chartis, TO;
* Michel Quatrale, Liberty, TO;
* Mike Wills, Ironshore, TO;
* Dane Hambrook, Ironshore, TO;
* David Tran, Ironshore, TO;
* Mark Rankin, Integro, TO;
* John Clements, Integro, USA;
* Ron Whyte, Integro, London;
* John Haas, Integro, TO; and
* Albert Bosch, Allianz, TO.
Donations can be made at http://bit.ly/cycle4wishes11