Fourteen of Bay Street’s leading bankers and investors will once again step into the boxing ring to raise money for The Hospital for Sick Children and Nazareth House a home for at-risk women and infants.

The 7th Annual Fight for Independence (FFI) boxing event and charity auction will be held at Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewing on September 29

The event, which has raised nearly $1 million since its inception in 2004, was the brainchild of Bay Street traders, James Beattie, Jackie Walker and Tom Gajer.

“Jackie, Tom and I were reflecting on Christmas and decided we needed to give more back to the community,” says Beattie, head of institutional trading at CIBC. “We met Sister June Dwyer, who runs Nazareth House, and saw the lasting difference she was making in people’s lives – but on a shoe-string budget. Before long, we knew we needed to find a way to raise money for the amazing work she and others were doing at the House.”

For the third year in a row the event has been expanded to also raise funds for the emergency department at SickKids Hospital.

On the card for the 2010 FFI are seven celebrity boxing matches with representatives from 11 different Bay Street firms. The year’s event will see former Toronto Argonaut, Adrion Smith, lace up the gloves and hop into the ring for the first time.

Tickets are available on the Fight for Independence website at fightforindependence.com.

IE