About > Charitable Work
It is DTZ FHO’s priority to strengthen organizations and programs that are located where our employees live, work and care for their families. As such, listed below are in-depth profiles for several of the charities our employees are extensively involved in supporting in our community.
American Cancer Society Relay for Life
Each year, across the nation, one event brings together entire communities to take part in the fight against cancer. That event is the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®. It’s a time and place where people come to celebrate those who have survived cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against a disease that touches too many lives.
After experiencing too many family members and close friends affected by cancer, Deanne Pace and her family became actively involved in fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society. The first few years they held various dances, raffles and Las Vegas Night fundraisers to support their participation as a team, named memory of their Dad, at a nearby town’s 24-hour American Cancer Relay for Life. After that town’s event grew too large the decision was made to spearhead the creation of a separate annual Relay for Life event in their hometown of Watertown, Massachusetts.
This June will mark the 5th year of Watertown’s Relay for Life event and with a record-setting 55 participating teams last year they have raised over $500,000 to-date. Go Wally’s Warriors! To donate to Deanne’s team or learn more about the Relay for Life near you, please visit their website www.relayforlife.org.
Dearborn Middle School Mentoring Program
For over fifteen years, our employees have been engaged in a mentoring program at the Dearborn Middle School in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The program initially followed a school-to-work model, with the goal of encouraging the children to stay in school by showing them how what they were learning at the Dearborn School might be useful in the workplace later on. Five years ago, with standardized testing in play, our program’s focus shifted to the classroom.
We now go into the classrooms to work with a small group of students or one-on-one as required by the teachers, to assist in the learning process. This has been an especially rewarding experience for all who participate. Over our long association with the Dearborn School, we have donated old letterhead, fixed-up the school day including painting and cleaning and helped to sponsor the annual 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C., to ensure that all the children who qualify to attend will be able make the 5-day trip to our nation’s Capital.
Special Olympics
Special Olympics contributes to the physical, social, and psychological development of people with intellectual disabilities. Through successful experiences in sports, our athletes gain confidence and build positive self-images, which go with them into their homes, classrooms, jobs, and communities.
SOMA volunteers benefit by discovering the capabilities of the athletes and feeling their joy. Volunteers are also provided the opportunity to express courage, experience joy, and share their gifts, skill and friendship.
Since 2004, DTZ FHO Partners’ Ted Lyon has co-sponsored the annual Bio-Ball event with many members of the firm volunteering to coach a special kind of March Madness with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Industry Special Olympics Basketball Tournament. In 2007, the event included 26 corporate sponsors raising $60,750.