Canada’s financial services community knows that giving back isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also a whole lot of fun. With summer in full swing, investment firms and advisors have organized and sponsored a number of outdoor events across the country that are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities.

In Toronto, Bank of Nova Scotia’s Rat Race for United Way, now in its sixth year, saw 1,300 people, decked out in rodent-themed gear, run a five-kilometre route through the city’s financial district to raise money for the Toronto chapter of the national charity. “It’s the focal point for our United Way campaign,” says Dan Wright, Scotiabank’s United Way employee campaign chairman and head of business solutions in the wealth management division.

The June 15 event began with pre-race festivities, including a fitness clinic, live entertainment and appearances by Toronto Argonauts football coach Mike “Pinball” Clemons and Argos cheerleaders. Then, the mad scramble began, with president and CEO Rick Waugh joining the record number of participants running the race’s route that began at Scotia Plaza.

At the race’s end, prizes were given to the 25 top men and 25 top women who finished the race. The event raised $100,000 for the United Way of Greater Toronto and kicked off this year’s United Way campaign. Last year, Scotiabank donated a total of $5.9 million to the United Way of Greater Toronto.

Employee campaign chair Wright praises the work the United Way does to help Toronto’s needy: “With the United Way’s expertise and review mechanisms, we know the money is going where the city needs it most.”

Also in Toronto, Stanley Tepner, a first vice president and investment advisor with the Tepner Team at CIBC Wood Gundy, is the organizing force behind the 13th annual croquet challenge in support of the Hearing Foundation of Canada. This year’s event, dubbed “Wicked Wickets,” was held at Old Fort York on June 21, a change in venue from the Toronto Squash, Cricket and Curling Club of years past.

“The great thing about croquet is experience is not required,” Tepner says. “The less you know about the game, the better.”

About 250 colourfully attired people, divided among 32 corporate teams mostly from financial services firms, participated in the event, which raised $80,000 for the charity. The winning team came from Toronto-based Franklin Templeton Investment Corp.

This is the eighth croquet event spearheaded by Tepner, who is also chairman of the board of the Hearing Foundation of Canada and is hearing-impaired himself. The charity is working on a project called “Sound Sense,” which educates young people to protect their hearing.

In Whistler, B.C., the 13th annual Big Brothers Whistler Golf Classic, presented by Vancouver-based investment firm Canaccord Capital Inc. , brought in a record $450,000 for Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver’s mentoring programs. The event has raised $2.35 million for the charity since its inception.

The two-day affair, held June 16-17, featured rounds of golf at the Nicklaus North and Big Sky courses for the men’s division and at the Nicklaus North and Chateau Whistler for the women’s division. The sold-out event saw 144 participants — divided into 36 golfing foursomes — stay at the Westin Resort & Spa and enjoy an opening night banquet with a silent auction of luxury items.

The event draws executives from the brokerage industry and other B.C. businesses. “It’s become a huge networking opportunity,” says Debbie Woo, director of development for the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver Foundation.

In Vancouver, CIBC Wood Gundy investment advisor Chris Gresat launched a four-hour boat cruise on June 17 to serve both as an educational opportunity for some his clients and a chance to raise money for a charity dear to his heart. About $5,000 was raised for the Canadian Institute for the Blind.

Gresat had been building a book of business serving optometrists, when, in an ironic twist of fate, his father was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which robbed him of much of his eyesight. Gresat organized the cruise to help other people with blindness. IE