Upcoming Bay St. Rides FAR event highlights the power of research and offers industry a chance to make an impact
The annual Bay St. Rides FAR (For Autism Research) event returns to the streets and trails of downtown Toronto on October 5th of this year. The event brings together financial services industry professionals for a fun, active day supporting a fantastic cause: the Autism Science Foundation (ASF).
Ahead of the ride, WP sat down with Alison Singer, co-founder, president, and board member of the Autism Science Foundation, and Jos Schmitt, board chair of Bay St. Rides FAR and the former President & CEO of Cboe Canada (formerly the NEO Exchange). They explained some of the history of this event, the positive change and research it has already funded, and why the financial services industry seems to have found a particularly strong connection with this cause.
“This is an industry that is very open minded and supportive of the right causes, causes and organizations that really make a difference,” says Schmitt. “What I would also add, which is something that attracted me about ASF, is that there is a focus on research. Research is something that is very natural to this industry. We are always doing some research about how things are evolving, the different ways we should operate, how the economy or how technology is evolving. I think there’s a deeper understanding of how important research is to come up with the ultimate answers. People are facing difficult situations, and we know that it will take research to bring us to solutions. I think that’s something that really speaks to our industry.”
Singer shared Schmitt’s view of research as a unifying thread between financial services and this cause. She highlighted that through fundraising efforts like Bay St. Rides FAR, and its US equivalent Wall St. Rides FAR, the ASF has already been able to fund some groundbreaking research into the nature of and treatments for autism.
“The one thing that we know about autism, and have pinned down from the research, is that early intervention is the best weapon against autism,” says Singer. “Children who are in good early intervention programs — between the ages of three and five — can make wonderful progress and, in many cases, can go on to be mainstreamed for kindergarten. So it’s really imperative that we continue to fund research that looks for new early warnings signs of autism, and a lot of that work is being done in Canada.”
Singer says that ASF has recently partnered with Dr. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum of the University of Alberta on his research into early-stage autism detection. The funds raised at last year’s ride were invested into the work he does which Singer hopes will help identify more early warning signs. His work also addresses the higher likelihood that younger siblings will be diagnosed with autism, as well as the emerging issues around people with autism or people who have family members with autism planning to start families of their own.
One of the other aspects of autism that makes it so challenging to detect is that while in some cases it can be attributed to a single gene, its more commonly a product of multiple genes, making it harder to identify. Genetics research being led by Dr. Steve Scherer at Sick Kids is working to address those challenges, and Singer says ASF has supported this work in the past and is eager to continue to focus in this area with funds raised at the ride.
Bay St. Rides FAR was launched as the Canadian mirror of Wall St. Rides FAR, an annual event launched ten years ago by Brian and Melissa Harkins, who have a nephew with autism and have seen firsthand the challenges this condition presents so many people. Schmitt was instrumental to establishing the Canadian event after connecting with one of his colleagues who has a child with autism. He found, in promoting the event, that autism touches the lives of countless people in this industry and across Canada.
He also found just how willing and able this industry is to support a cause like autism research. Past iterations have been resounding successes as a place for fundraising, networking, and a bit of fun. The event this year has three cycling routes set, one 10km, one 20km, and one 50km, as well as a 5km walk. It ends with a ‘finish festival’ where colleagues and friends can get together for a meal and a chat, enjoy the fresh autumn air and take part in a great experience for a great cause.
“Toronto is known for its particularly energetic finish festival,” says Singer. “I’m very excited to attend the ride this year because Toronto is a wonderful experience.”
Bay St. Rides FAR will be held on Saturday October 5, 2024, beginning and ending at Sherborne Common in Toronto. You can learn more about the event here.
