A Celebration of Generosity

November 2023

A Celebration of Generosity: STA Affiliates Reflect the Mission of Giving Tuesday

By Ryan Kwiatkowski, StoneX

2023 STA Chair

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the holiday season has officially kicked into high gear. This time of year always brings forth a spirit of generosity and charity that inspires individuals and organizations to spread acts of kindness.

Working in financial services puts us in an obvious position to embrace philanthropy and give back to causes that matter. We have the means and the networks to throw our support behind initiatives that align with our values and make a real impact in our communities.

Today, Giving Tuesday – a global day of charitable giving that occurs annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving – serves as a natural invitation to “find your cause,” promoting positive social change on a larger scale and fostering a sense of unity. One of the reasons we’re so supportive of the initiative is that our local STA affiliates live out its mission all year long, aligning #GrassrootsGiving efforts with the convictions of their members and the needs of their communities to produce powerful results.

Here are just a few examples from Q4:

Dallas STA recently supported the Inaugural Dallas Golf Outing benefiting Catch A Lift, an organization that helps 9/11 combat-injured veterans to recover and rehabilitate physically and mentally through fitness, motivation and support.

On December 4, IETA (Toronto) will support an ‘Out of the Cold’ Dinner Service, an emergency program that provides homeless persons with a hot meal and a warm, safe place to sleep in churches and other public buildings across downtown Toronto.

San Francisco STA is holding a toy drive, with all donations benefiting the San Francisco Firefighter Toy Program, at the annual SFSTA Holiday Party on December 14. The city’s largest and nation’s oldest program of its kind, the Toy Program annually distributes over 200,000 toys to more than 40,000 disadvantaged children, so that no child goes without a toy during the holiday season.

Through these meaningful donations of time, money and resources, STA affiliates are making a positive impact on the cities and wider communities they serve. These charitable events, occurring across North America this holiday season, show the collective power of our organization and the larger impact we can have when we band together for causes that resonate with us.

This Giving Tuesday, we encourage you to embrace the spirit of the holidays and join STA members in giving back to your community however you can. Never doubt your power to make a positive change in the lives of others – or the compounding effects of rallying your community for a cause.

STANY 2023 Holiday Party

November 29

Haswell Green's

New York, NY

Dallas STA 2023 Holiday Party

November 30

Happiest Hour

Dallas, TX

2023 SFSTA Holiday Party &

Toy Drive

December 14

Chotto Matte

San Francisco, CA

IETA 2023 Holiday Party

December 7

Terroni’s

Toronto, ON

2023 STASL Winter Event

December 14

Il Palato

Clayton, MO

STA Affiliate Events

STA Charity Partner Message

Giving Thanks to the Wall Street Community

By Alison Singer

President, Autism Science Foundation

In a year of so much global turmoil, it feels more important than ever to use this Thanksgiving season as an opportunity to take a step back and recognize the good things in our lives. For me, the love of family and friends, continued advances in autism research and the generosity of those who support the Autism Science Foundation are all reasons to be grateful, even in the face of daunting international circumstances.

This year, I am thankful for one group of donors in particular: the financial community. Every year, you show up in full force to support us at Wall Street Rides FAR, Baltimore Rides FAR and Bay Street Rides FAR, and we know we can count on your participation in next year’s Chicago Rides FAR. Over the past 9 years, these annual bike rides have raised nearly $5 million for ASF.

The funds you have raised are being put to great use. This year alone, ASF funded 22 new grants to uncover the causes of autism and develop new treatments, and launched a unique “Participate in Research” website to match families with studies recruiting participants. Over 100 research sites signed up in the first month! We continued to produce our award-winning weekly podcast to share new discoveries with families and also helped launch a new program to educate clinicians about treating the dangerous behaviors that often accompany profound autism. This level of activity simply wouldn’t be possible without the support of Wall Street, or the hard work of our Rides FAR and Wall Street Rides FAR event chairs Bryan and Melissa Harkins, Baltimore chair Marc Wyatt and Toronto chair Jos Schmitt.

We hope we can count on your continued support today, Giving Tuesday. Your donation will fund research that will help people with autism live fulfilling lives with dignity.

We are so grateful to Security Traders Association and its president, Jim Toes, who have time and again demonstrated a willingness to help amplify our message and educate members about the early warning signs of autism and about the critical need for more autism research. Giving back to the community is an important part of STA’s mission and we are proud to be one of its charity partners.

Thank you again for your generosity today and every day. It is deeply appreciated.

Canadian STA Update

Congratulations to our Montreal affiliate MIETA on the success of this year’s Charity Day!

Through the street’s generosity, $275,000 was raised for local Montreal charities! Thank you to all those who participated and for your generosity. Special thanks to Raymond James Ltd., Desjardins & National Bank of Canada for coordinating this initiative, year after year.

IETA Members will volunteer at the Out of the Cold Dinner Service at St. Andrew’s Church in Toronto, on December 4th. Out of the Cold is an emergency program that provides homeless persons with a hot meal and a warm, safe place to sleep in churches and other public buildings across Toronto.

IETA's Annual Holiday Party will be held on December 7th. Guests are asked to make a donation to the Holiday Helpers. Holiday Helpers is a local charity that supports over 1,000 families in need over the holidays. A silent auction will be held with all proceeds going to Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.

More Info