This past month Pilot Bank was able to make some great strides not only for themselves as a team but for The American Cancer Society at the Tampa Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event last month. The walk took place on October 28th at Amalie Arena and was projected to raise $753,000 to go towards cancer research.
Tampa Making Strides features a noncompetitive 3-to-5-mile-long walk and encourages cancer survivors, friends, family, and community members to come together and make a difference in the lives of those who have been affected by breast cancer.
This year, Pilot Bank took on the challenge of not only garnering widespread participation from members, but raising a total of $5,000 as a team. Pilot Bank is a community bank and when an opportunity arises to support the community, they do so with great pride. Rita Lowman, Pilot Bank’s Chief Operating Officer and the Honorary Chair for Tampa Making Strides Against Breast Cancer said of the event, “Our passion for this cause is based on the fact that everyone is no further than one person away from cancer.”
In order to raise money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Pilot Bank held a number of smaller events to fundraise in any way they could. One event, ‘Painting with a Purpose’ was held at the Painting with a Twist studio in Carollwood. Pilot Bank managed to sign up 25 participants and the studio donated half of the profits to the cause which came out to a total of $952.50.
The team at Pilot Bank had a several other tricks up their sleeve to raise funds including ‘Jean’s Fridays’ a promotion held at local branches where associates would donate $5 to the charity in exchange for wearing jeans on Fridays. The team also hosted a bingo event at Hamburger Mary’s. “We had a really fun night of bingo making the event a huge success!” Pilot Bank’s VP Marketing Leader, Hanisha Patel, proudly stated of their efforts, “We raised $1,489 to benefit Tampa Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.”
Pilot Bank also had team members contribute on their own. Roy Hellwege, Chief Executive Officer, and Jimmie Giles, retired Buccaneers Player were Real Men for the Real Men Wear Pink campaign which supported the Tampa Making Strides against Breast Cancer event.
It’s hardly a surprise that the 39 team members for Pilot Bank soared beyond expectations and raised $5,135 for The American Cancer Society. Out of the whopping 642 teams registered for the event, Pilot Bank ranked 16th in total fundraising, greatly contributing to the final total of $624,714 raised by the 23,000 estimated walkers at the event.
Raising over $5,000 as a team is certainly something to celebrate, and the team made sure to do so while also celebrating the survivors of breast cancer and thoughtfully remembering those who lost their battles. Now all that’s left to do is for Pilot Bank to figure out how to top their success as a team for next year’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event.
