This
month I’m turning over my blog space to Shamrock’s Tim Berry who recently biked
as part of “Team Rover” for The American Cancer Society’s 9th Annual Pan
Ohio Hope Ride—a 4-day, 328-mile ride from Cleveland to Cincinnati.
Tim’s effort is one that Shamrock’s Culture Club
embraced by rallying support from our employees. Read on to learn more about
Tim’s personal drive behind this special fund raiser.
Like many of us, I support a variety of
charities; I’m willing to donate to organizations and people in need. But taking
part in the Pan Ohio Hope Ride—for the third time—has helped me to reach beyond
my baseline level of support. It was an experience that reinforced for me, in a
powerful way, what can be accomplished when you join together as a team.
At the start of the race, I looked out
across the sea of cyclists: Here we all were, out there, showing up and joining
together to fight for a cause that is so much bigger than all of us. We had put
in hundreds of hours of training to prepare; with that shared commitment there
was a real sense of camaraderie among the riders. It just felt good, to be
doing such good. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
I rode with Team Rover, a group of my
friends (who later became clients) www.followrover.com; each one of us had our own inspiration for participating.
For me it was Jackie Bankston. She was one of my colleagues at Shamrock who
lost her battle to cancer at a young age. My personal goal was to raise $4,000 in
Jackie’s honor. And then our community involvement committee at Shamrock jumped
on board; they helped promote my cause. People who I had never met before
pledged money and followed my ride progress. With employee donations and
Shamrock’s matching-fund contribution, I collected more than $7,500 for The
American Cancer Society.
The experience was incredibly satisfying;
beyond riding 328 miles across the state, it was rewarding to contribute to
such a successful fundraising effort. Paul Purdy at The American Cancer Society
in Cleveland did an amazing job organizing the event—it’s one of the most
professional, well-run events I’ve been a part of. Click here to view event photos.
For those of us who enjoy giving back, I
think it’s important to solicit corporate support to add more fuel to your
fire. In my case, I was able to well surpass my goal. If you’d like to learn
more about ways to get your company behind your next fundraiser, feel free to
email me at tberry@shamrockcompanies.net.
Tim Berry
Pan Ohio Hope Ride 2015: 46 teams I 378 participants I $810,576.88 raised
