George Town, Grand Cayman, December 4, 2015 – Bringing to a close what has been by far its most successful ‘Walk for the Cure’ charity fundraiser, CIBC FirstCaribbean delivered a cheque for US$70,822 to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, representing the proceeds of the 2015 campaign.

The funds were collected following an overwhelming response from the local community to CIBC FirstCaribbean’s initiative, with over 900 people in Cayman walking the 5km route on October 4.

Regionally, ‘Walk for the Cure’ had CIBC FirstCaribbean staff and supporters in 17 territories, all walking to raise money to defeat cancer. With over 20,000 people taking part in the walks, a grand total of US$400,000 was collected across the bank’s network in 2015. The funds will support critical cancer care, purchase vital equipment necessary to treat patients and host general education programmes to create greater awareness of the disease across the region.

Rik Parkhill, outgoing CEO of CIBC FirstCaribbean, along with CEO designate Gary Brown, who assumes the role in January, flew into Cayman from the Bank’s Head Office in Barbados to make the presentation to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, along with Cayman Managing Director Mark McIntyre.

“Our staff in Cayman deserve special recognition as their passion and drive to help others has ensured the success of our Walk for the Cure campaign which has once again exceeded our greatest expectations,” Mr. McIntyre said. “I would also like to sincerely thank the community for their generosity and for getting behind us in such great numbers. Our event means nothing without their support.”

Receiving the cheque on behalf of the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, Operations Manager Jennifer Weber said: “We are extremely grateful to the staff and management of CIBC FirstCaribbean for their efforts in raising this money which is so badly needed by our patients. Thanks to CIBC FirstCaribbean’s community spirit and that of everyone who participated, we can continue to make a difference and provide treatment options for people suffering here in Cayman.”

Each year, the Walk for the Cure is held to coincide with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s CIBC Run for the Cure sponsored by the bank’s parent company, CIBC. CIBC has been supporting this event for more than 20 years, donating millions to breast cancer research in Canada.
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From left: Shadden McLaughlin, Rik Parkhill – CEO, Mark I. McIntyre – Managing Director, Jennifer Weber –Cayman Islands Cancer Society, Gary Brown – CEO Designate
About CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC FirstCaribbean is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets, through 3,400 staff, across 100 branches and offices.

The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in: Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business and Credit Cards.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. Through three distinct business lines, Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking, CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/Stable/A-1 by Standard & Poor’s.

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com