Cycle for Impact

by Joey Blumenfeld

In my current role at AOL, I find myself using the phrase “AOL is in the business of helping people, period” quite a lot but I’ve never felt it more than I did this past weekend. With the help of my co-captain, the incredible & fearless Janet Balis, I decided to rally AOL employees across the country to participate in Cycle for Survival which is an indoor team cycling event that raises funds for rare cancer research.  Now if you know me, you’ll know that I’m slightly obsessed with indoor spinning (Soul Cycle, Flywheel, you name it!) and I’m involved with non-profit organizations and causes on a daily basis, so rallying our office around this event was something I wanted to jump on from the very start.  I knew that I could persuade my friends at work to fundraise and participate in the event, but I am still BLOWN AWAY by the level of participation I’ve seen across 6 different AOL offices- over 100 employees (in addition to Arianna) have participated in this event and together, we’ve raised $63K which will go directly to rare cancer research! I get chills down my spine when I think about how our company has come together to not only raise money, but to generate awareness around the importance of finding a cure for rare cancers (which comprise about 50% of all cancers).

Waking up earlier than usual for a Sunday, 45 NYC employees from across the company met at Equinox Graybar and took turns cycling and cheering each other on. The energy and enthusiasm in the room was contagious- between the heart-pumping and sweat-inducing rides we heard stories about loved ones who lost their battle with cancer and loved ones who were still fighting it, and instead of feeling sadness, I felt hope.  I felt hope that because of events like Cycle for Survival, and companies like AOL, who bring their employees together in support of cancer research, we won’t just find a cure for cancer, but we’ll find a cure within our lifetime.   

Though we might have walked into that Equinox as employees from separate teams across AOL, Huffington Post, and Patch, we walked out as one unit fighting for the same thing- a cure.  For me, one of the best parts of this experience was having the opportunity to work towards this goal with so many new faces across our company.  I loved getting to know each and every person on the team, and I look forward to rallying our troops again next year!

Join in! Donate to our team by visiting www.AOLCycleforSurvival.com today!