SALINA — Some will run. Others will walk. Most will socialize with food and drink. And one area organization will benefit from the event’s proceeds. The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, an annual race and walking event attracting area corporations and their employees, will benefit the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection program. This year’s edition of the race […]
SALINA — Some will run. Others will walk. Most will socialize with food and drink.
And one area organization will benefit from the event’s proceeds.
The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, an annual race and walking event attracting area corporations and their employees, will benefit the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection program.
This year’s edition of the race is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. on June 17 at Onondaga Lake Park. The cost is $34 per participant and registration closes on June 6, according to JP Morgan Chase.
This year’s event is the 32nd Corporate Challenge in Syracuse, according to Mark Allen, region executive for Chase commercial banking, covering upstate New York and north-central Pennsylvania.
He spoke to the Business Journal News Network from the firm’s Syracuse office at 500 Plum St.
The Corporate Challenge includes a 3.5-mile run and walk along the Onondaga Lake Parkway and a festive post-race party among the participants and their companies.
“Some run it … to win the race. Some run it to meet their own individual time goals, whether that’s 16 minutes or an hour, and some walk with colleagues,” says Allen.
The event attracted more than 7,600 participants to Onondaga Lake Park last year. The largest crowd, at just under 8,000, turned out in 2012.
J.P. Morgan is expecting about 8,200 participants this year, Allen says. According to J.P. Morgan’s figures, it would be largest crowd to participate in the Syracuse edition of the Corporate Challenge.
The banking giant operates 13 similar races in locations around the world, including the Upstate communities of Rochester and Buffalo, Allen says.
“It’s a commitment from J.P. Morgan Chase and the bank to bring the community together, have a nice evening of some healthy competition, camaraderie, and teamwork,” he adds.
J.P. Morgan uses the $34 registration fee for a participant t-shirt, some expenses, and the charitable donation, which makes up “a majority of that” figure, Allen says.
“Charitable giving is always an important component of the Corporate Challenge,” according to Allen.
Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection is a youth-development program that has helped at-risk students stay in school and graduate while providing part-time work experience and job skills, according to an April 2 J.P. Morgan news release.
“Hillside Work-Scholarship provides access to education skills and other experiences that really bridge and align with how J.P. Morgan views an important component of philanthropy,” Allen says.
Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection is an affiliate of the Rochester–based Hillside Family of Agencies, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit family and youth human-services organizations in New York, according to the release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
