Our partnership with the Ottawa Marathon began in 2004. In the last several years, race participation has more than doubled to almost 30,000
runners and walkers. This event offers a combination of competition, participation and fundraising. It aims to make a positive contribution to the health of the community.
ING employees have been keen to participate in this event year after year. Employees in Ottawa have had the opportunity to help organizers and runners raise money for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation. This year employees in Ontario raised $74,000 for WICC (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade).
The ING Run for Something Better program, the charitable component of the marathon, was developed by ING Canada in 2004. The program aims to introduce less-fortunate children to the sport of running. Children learn about track-and-field events and are taught to develop healthy, lifelong fitness habits. ING brokers run the race to allow underprivileged kids from their region to participate in track and field programs. For their participation, ING makes a donation to a local athletic club in the brokers’ hometown.
The ING Ottawa Marathon, a world-class race that has been attracting elite athletes for years, is also the site of the Canadian Marathon Championships and the Wheelchair Marathon Championships.
ING Edmonton Marathon
ING has also been sponsoring the ING Edmonton Marathon since 2004. Since that time, the marathon has grown to approximately 3,000 participants. ING is title sponsor and continues to have a large presence in this marathon. This year, we had a record number of ING employees and guests attend either by participating in a run/walk or as a volunteer. This marathon is considered to be one of our flagship sponsorships in Western Canada.
Partnership with Speed Skating Canada
ING in Canada has been a Premier Partner of Speed Skating Canada since 2006 and has committed $2 million to the organization. The past years have been very successful for Canada’s speed skaters. At the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, the team amassed a remarkable eight medals, including golds for Cindy Klassen and Clara Hughes in the 1500m and 5000m respectively. During the 2007 World Cup season Canada’s speed skaters collected an outstanding 27 medals. Our support will help these athletes become the best speed skating team in the world as they prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Not only do we support Canada’s Olympians, but we also believe in supporting athletes at all stages of the sport. For that reason, ING is also fostering the interest and supporting the development of speed skating amongst Canadian children. In collaboration with Speed Skating Canada, ING Canada is taking part in a school instructional program to increase awareness surrounding the sport and to assist teachers with the teaching of the sport.
ING Canada is also thrilled to have “the fastest woman on ice”, Catriona Le May Doan, working with us to promote various programs. The two-time Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion is lending her voice to our newest initiative, the ING Speed Skating Challenge. To learn more about this exciting event, please visit www.INGSpeedSkatingChallenge.com.
2008 promises to be another exciting year for Canada’s speed skaters!
