Everyone loves to give back to the community.
Wall Street and many notable celebrities did last Tuesday by partaking in the 16th annual BTIG Commissions for Charity Day held on its trading floors across the globe. The yearly event is part of a global initiative supported by the firm’s institutional trading clients, a growing list of celebrities and dedicated employees across four continents. Each year, the firm donates to hundreds of charities, many of them focused on children and others in need. This year the firm raised over $5 million dollars for charity.
For the images from this year’s event, please click here
Celebrities come to the broker’s location and act as sales traders for the day – answering phones, executing trades, meeting with distinguished guests and interacting with BTIG’s own staff. This year’s celebrity list included: Aaron Boone, Adam Klein, Adonal Foyle, Alex Rodriguez, Allie LaForce, Amy Gutierrez, Barry Bonds, Beth Stern, President Bill Clinton, Bill Romanowski, Bobby Valentine, Bode Miller, Bret Hedican, Brian Cashman, Bruce Beck, CC Sabathia, Charles Oakley, Chris Johnson, Chris Long, Chris Snee, Chris Wragge, Chuck Scarborough, Curtis Martin, Damon Bruce, Dave Dravecky, David Cone, David Costabile, David Muir, David Robertson, David Tyree, Dellin Betances, Denis Leary, Didi Gregorius, Dominic West, Dominique Wilkins, Eli Manning, Elisa Donovan, Emmanuel Mudiay, Eric LeGrand, Evan Engram, Gary Cohn, Grant Hill, Hannah Storm, Henrik Lundqvist, Jalen Rose, Janice Huff, Jay Wright, Jeff Capel, Jenny McCarthy, Jeremy Affeldt, Joe Girardi, Joe Namath, John Collins, John Starks, Johnny Velazquez, Justin Tuck, Kelenna Azubuike, Khris Davis, Kristin Davis, Lance Thomas, Lawrence Taylor, Leonard Marshall, Lucy Liu, Ludacris, Mariano Rivera, Mark Farrell, Mark Messier, Mike Bloomberg, Mookie Betts, Nick Mangold, Nicky Hilton, Petra Nemcova, Phil Simms, Ralph Sampson, Roger Goodell, Scott Van Pelt, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephanie Ruhle, Steve Buscemi, Ted Robinson, Terrell Owens, Tim Flannery, Tony Gonzalez, Ubah Hassan, Victor Cruz and Walt Frazier.
“This shows the good side of Wall Street,’’ said Steven Starker, co-founder of BTIG. “A lot of times Wall Street gets a bad rap. This is giving back to a lot of very good causes.”
Since pioneering its first Commissions for Charity Day in 2003, BTIG has donated more than $45 million to hundreds of charitable organizations, including more than $5 million from this event in 2017.
This year’s charities included but were not limited to:
Big Picture Learning
Autism Speaks
Beat the Streets
Children’s Miracle Network
Bread for Life
Cystic Fibrosis Network
The Guardsman
Navy Seal Foundation
Project Susnshine
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital