CIBC miracle Day: An opportunity to give to children’s charities
Traders and investment advisors at one of Canada’s big banks are shifting their focus today from finance to fundraising in an effort to raise millions for children in need.
Children like Anna, 14, who’s lived in several foster homes throughout her life. Through each move, she’s had one constant: the dance lessons she’s been able to take with the same group of friends since mastering her first plié as a young girl.
Anna’s joy and the stability that comes from dance wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for days like today — CIBC Miracle Day — which creates philanthropic partnerships between CIBC and hundreds of organizations supporting kids in need, including the Children’s Aid Foundation.
“The ability to go out and take swimming lessons, music lessons, or play sports – we take that for granted, but it’s not a given for kids in [foster] care,” said Ravit Kadosh, who oversees corporate partnerships at the Children’s Aid Foundation. “Those enrichment activities help them build confidence, self-esteem and an identity outside of being a foster kid. They just get to be a kid and have fun.”
An impAct thAt’s more thAn A miracle
For 34 years, CIBC Miracle Day has raised millions in support of children’s charities, including more than 12,000 children in foster care throughout Canada.
Since 1984, on the first Wednesday of every December, CIBC Capital Markets traders and CIBC Wood Gundy Investment Advisors have donated their fees and commissions to children’s charities to help make miracles happen. CIBC’s trading floors and offices across Canada, and in New York, Chicago, London and Hong Kong, host an exciting day with the support of celebrities, charities, and of course the heroes of the day, children.
The impact of CIBC Miracle Day has been felt by the hundreds of charities it has supported. They include Power to Be, a non-profit in British Columbia that helps children with physical barriers enjoy the great outdoors.
And since 1989, researchers at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital have gained a better understanding of the impact of robotics therapy on children with cerebral palsy thanks to money for clinical trials raised during CIBC Miracle Day.
All in, CIBC Miracle Day has raised more than $95 million in Canada and $246 million globally to help kids reach their full potential.
“We believe that every kid should have an opportunity to excel in life and our goal is for each donation to help improve the lives of children throughout Canada and beyond, and we’re fortunate to be able to see that impact year over year,” says Harry Culham, senior executive vice-president and group head, capital markets, and chair of CIBC Miracle Day.
miracle DAy through the yeArs
The first CIBC Miracle Day took place in 1984 when CIBC Wood Gundy branch manager Timothy Miller rallied a handful of investment advisors with the shared vision that every child should experience the joy of the season. They were intent to make miracles happen, and agreed to donate a day’s worth of fees and commissions. They raised $163,935 that first year.
This tradition of donating trading fees to kids in need has since grown into one of Canada’s largest single-day corporate fundraising events in support of children’s charities.
“It’s something that all our traders, advisors, volunteers and our celebrity supporters are proud to be a part of,” Culham says. “CIBC Miracle Day has grown from a small holiday tradition into a global initiative that offers help for those with varying abilities and opens doors to opportunities that some kids may not otherwise have.”
reAl superheroes – with some super help
This year, kids visiting the trading floor in Toronto on CIBC Miracle Day will be treated to a ‘superhero’ experience, designing their very own superhero trading card and choosing a name and superpower.
They’ll be joined by TV, film and sports celebrities. Well-known figures who’ve stepped on the trading floor in the past to offer their support include actors Billy Baldwin, Rachel McAdams and Mark Wahlberg, among dozens of others. Ongoing celebrity supporters include CIBC-sponsored TV personality Scott McGillivray, former CFL player Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Olympic medalist Adam van Koeverden and sports broadcaster Rod Black.
“Miracle Day is the best,” Clemons says. “You elevate the most vulnerable, amplify the most effective and give a voice to the most isolated. Lives are changed, dreams are fulfilled and others are just given a chance.”