In the middle of a normal work day, nearly 30 of our people left work to take an afternoon ride around a park in one giant red tandem bike.
While at first glance this might sound like a scene straight out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the bikers had a legitimate excuse to momentarily ditch their desks.
For the first time, Creation Vancouver and HQ participated in Big Bike, a team event geared towards companies to raise funds for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. In the week leading up to the May 24th event, our Creation Vancouver Making a Difference (MAD) team held a bake sale and created an online donation page, raising close to $2000 that will go towards heart disease and stroke research.
Their reward? Taking the 30-seat, 2000 pound bike around a nearby business park for a 15-minute, 2 km ride.
“It was an exciting experience for such a worthy cause,” said Amy Lee, product engineer in the Vancouver business unit. “The weather was just right to do an outdoor activity like this.”
Prior to the ride, the organizers played a quick five minutes warm-up game with the Creation riders to educate them about the foundation and awareness of heart disease, as well as what to do when someone is having a stroke – CPR (i.e. call, push, restart). They also learned that there is an app for CPR. During the 2 km ride, the driver taught the riders the basic cycling hand signals.
“Some members put up the wrong hand when we made a turn and it would confuse the car behind us,” said Amy. “It was hilarious. It was a good team building event as we got to ride, chat and laugh together.”
But just as important as the fun and education, the event served a higher purpose for our company.
“Your health is one of the most important things in your life,” Amy said. “We’re happy that participating in events like this will raise awareness and funds for charities that help prevent and treat heart attacks.”
Big Bike was just one of several recent Making a Difference initiatives across Creation, with Making a Difference Day a key part of our 25th Anniversary celebrations. In June, for example, our team in BC raised funds through a food sale and raffle to benefit the Fort McMurray (Alberta) fire relief efforts. There was also a food drive and a glasses drive, where people donated old glasses frames to third world counties.
More info on BIG Bike: http://support.heartandstroke.ca/site/PageServer?pagename=BB2016_whatIsBigBike
