Charitable events pay off for Fidelity

THE MS 150 BIKE TOUR, a  Multiple Sclerosis Society fundraiser, now in its 20th year, has been drawing increasing participation from Fidelity employees and their families. /
THE MS 150 BIKE TOUR, a Multiple Sclerosis Society fundraiser, now in its 20th year, has been drawing increasing participation from Fidelity employees and their families. /

Fidelity Investments’ participation in the MS 150 Bike Tour for multiple sclerosis has grown since the company began investing in the event eight years ago.
What started as an eight-employee team of cyclists who raised $3,200 for the cause in 1999 has grown to a team of 120 Fidelity cyclists who raised $76,000 last year.
Employees have raised $235,000 for the cause in total, making it the largest outside charity event Fidelity sponsors in Rhode Island, said Holly Jensen, senior public relations manager for Fidelity at the company’s Smithfield campus.
And this year, Fidelity plans to be the lead sponsor of the event for the fourth time. The reason: The bike tour has proven to be beneficial for employees in more ways than one.
Since Fidelity’s involvement, the number of employees using the company’s on-site fitness center has increased noticeably, Jensen said. That makes for a healthier work force.
The company also has noticed an increase in employee participation in all of its volunteer events, she said. In 2006, Fidelity employees volunteered 5,200 hours in Rhode Island, up 1,000 hours from the year before.
Jensen attributes the increase to the bike tour, because it offers employees a fun and challenging way to give back. And that spurs more interest in volunteering as a whole. “It definitely boosts employee morale,” she said. “It expands their social network … and helps them see how they can personally help.”
The bike tour, which takes place the fourth weekend in June, is 150 miles along scenic back roads from Cranston to Newport and back. But the ride is broken up by colorful rest stops, which are usually sponsored by a company and are decorated to fit a theme. Last year’s theme was “Around the World.” Each rest stop represented a different country.
The bike tour generates more than a third of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s income each year, said Emily Murphy, director of development for the chapter.
“We’re highly dependent on the event,” she said. “Especially in Rhode Island, where we have a higher incidence of MS than other parts of the country.”
Last year, the event raised $445,000 for the chapter’s financial assistance programs. The money is used to provide grants for equipment, counseling and case management for individuals with multiple sclerosis in the state.
Murphy said she’s noticed an increase in participation and funds raised within the past five years especially, though this will be the bike tour’s 20th year. She attributes the growth to the growing interest in cycling as a sport, but also the recognition from companies of the event as a team builder for employees.
Fidelity recognizes the team-building aspect of the event as well. “It offers the opportunity for different departments to train together,” Jensen said. “They build relationships, so when they do come to work and need to get a job done, it makes it easier, because they know the person a little better.”
Half of the 700 cyclists who participated last year were teams of employees and teams of families and friends, Murphy said. The rest were individual riders.
It is also common for individuals to take interest in the event first, then to inspire the company they work for to get involved, she said.
That is what happened at Lavigne Manufacturing Inc. in Cranston.
Ray Burns, manufacturing support manager at the company, started riding in the bike tour with his friends in 1993 because it was a challenge, he said, and something they all could do together.
When he started working for Lavigne Manufacturing, in 1996, he asked the company for sponsorship. Now the company is a sponsor for the event. And its 130 employees donate generously to Burns when he rides.
Fidelity’s involvement in the bike tour is also employee-driven, Jensen said.
“A lot of our employees do ride for personal reasons,” Jensen added. “One employee, his daughter has MS. For others, the first time they ride they might not know about MS, but after you do it once you want to ride to find a cure.”
As the company’s number of employees in Rhode Island has grown, so has participation. Fidelity now employs 2,100 in the state and plans to add 1,000 by 2008, after it completes building a third building on its Smithfield campus.
Fidelity offered employees 40 volunteer opportunities last year. One of the main components it looks for in the volunteer events it sponsors is employee engagement, which is another reason the bike tour fits nicely in the company’s charitable giving system.
“That’s what works for us,” Jensen said. “We’re very employee engaged. They are what we need to succeed, so we want them to be happy … we want them to feel engaged.”

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