Bigelow Tea certainly isn’t new to advocating healthy lifestyles; it’s something we’ve been doing for 65 years.

Today, May 19th, marks National Employee Health & Fitness Day, created for companies to promote and encourage employees’ health and fitness needs. This day is designed to help workers lower their stress levels, improve physical fitness and build stamina.

Daniel Bourbonnais Jogging Trail Painting, Courtesy of fineartamerica.com

A few years ago, Bigelow Tea participated in ABC Primetime’s Corporate Weight Loss Challenge, and the words teamwork, diet, and exercise were the buzz.  In fact, a little teamwork at the office certainly goes a long way, as you can also see from the most recent competition that Cindi Bigelow has promoted among Senior Management in addition to the fact that Bigelow Tea won the Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s Healthy Business Award for mid-sized employers!

We encourage both employers and employees to use National Employee Health & Fitness Day to reflect upon their lifestyles, because making healthy choices not only improves your own quality of life, but increases productivity in the workplace!

The 22^nd annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge, the annual 5k Road Race, Fitness Walk and Kids’ Fun Run that raises funds for local charities, took place in September and raised over $80,000.  So strong is the following, the fun-filled, family event attracted hundreds despite the rain that poured down on that day.

The real satisfaction for Bigelow Tea comes now, as 100% of the money is distributed over the next several months to fifteen Fairfield County based charities.  One of the first checks was awarded to the Connecticut Food Bank, just in time for the holidays.

“It’s all about coming together to make a positive difference within our community,” says Cindi Bigelow, President, Bigelow Tea. “We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to partner with the Connecticut Food Bank in such a meaningful way!”

The following charities will also benefit from the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge:

Bridgeport Rescue Mission

Burroughs Community Center

Cardinal Shehan Center

Caroline House

Center for Women & Families

Connecticut Food Bank

Fairfield Senior Center

Grasmere Eldercare Center

Janus House

Mercy Learning Center

Music and Art for the Humanity

Operation Hope

Sandcastle Playground

Wakeman Boys & Girls Club

YMCA of Fairfield

Just finished our 22nd Bigelow Tea Community Challenge this past Sunday!  And let me tell you, it POURED!!! But it did not dampen the spirit of over 700 runners, walkers and children who came to participate in this year’s event.  It was extra special to me because so many people completely ignored the “not so fun” weather and came out to support this fantastic event and to enjoy their experience.

Once again, our sponsors were incredibly generous as we raised over $80,000 to support 15 local charities.  I have to say, I love every year’s race but nothing is more impactful than adding some pouring rain into the equation.  It certainly makes the day that much more memorable.  This community never ceases to amaze me in terms of its compassion and commitment to supporting our town and the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge.  I stood in the rain so long my fingers were absolutely water logged, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing…the day was completely perfect!

Cindi Bigelow

Back in 1994, I had a conversation with the head of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce about putting together a team of people to build a community playground.  Long story short, it took two years, 2500 volunteers, fundraisers enough to raise $160,000 and in October of 1996 the Sandcastle Playground was completed and the four GC’s (myself and three amazing friends) turned the playground over to our town as a gift.

Since that day, Bigelow Tea has kept a hand in keeping the playground well maintained.  We often take a day off in the spring and send over teams of people for a BBQ and general cleanup!!  We even donate a portion of the annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge to the playground upkeep.  Needless to say, the playground is a great source of pride at our company.  This year we redid the donor signs with some of the race money.  They came out beautifully!

I just love that this 12000 square foot playground is truly a centerpiece in this town for families to gather and that we have a hand in maintaining and caring for it.

Cindi Bigelow

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.”
– George Bernard Shaw

It’s that time of year again! We’re counting the days – in anticipation of the upcoming 22^nd Annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge, on Sunday, September 27, 2009. This fabulous, morning-long family event will be held at Wakeman Boys & Girls Club in Southport, Connecticut – rain or shine.  The race is expected to attract over 1000 community-minded participants of all ages, eager to do their part to raise $60K+ for local organizations in need.

The Bigelow family, along with the entire staff of Bigelow Tea, considers it an honor and a privilege to be able to give back to their community.  Thanks to the energetic efforts of the Bigelow Tea team, their families and all the volunteers, this fundraising event raises money for local charities, like The Fairfield Senior Center, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club, Operation Hope, and the Center for Women & Families – to mention just a few.

The philanthropic concept of giving back to the community is not unfamiliar to Bigelow Tea.  In fact, “community” is the driving force behind everything we do: we’re 100% dedicated to our family, employees, corporate partners, community and our environment.  Each year, this event fosters such an extraordinary level of commitment from participants, volunteers and organizers alike, and we can say – with absolute certainty – that community spirit is alive and well in Fairfield County, Connecticut!

For more information, please visit our website at www.bigelowtea.com.

Recently I was extremely fortunate to be part of a very special event at the Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport.  The MLC is an organization with the mission of educating women.  For many of the women in the program, English is their second language.  Often, they are being taught to read and write for the very first time in their lives.   These hard working, dedicated women have many adversities to overcome just to attend the school.  They have limited support systems in many cases.  The work done at the center is so essential to their ability to get ahead or even just to properly take care of their family.

The MLC has been one of the beneficiaries of the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge for over 10 years.  This year we coordinated the delivery of the race proceeds with the center’s annual essay contest.  The contest had almost 100 students contribute an essay stating who or what had made a positive impact in their life.  I had the opportunity to read the top 14 essays; they were each more touching than the next.  One woman, Maria, was the grand prize winner.  Her essay is below.  The hour that I spent at the MLC really reminded me about the hard work that is necessary to get ahead in this world.  The determination I see in these women really made me pause and take note of how many incredible people we have in this world.  I got to listen to several of the women tell me their stories in person and each one was more moving than the next one.  It was a very special event with some very special women…I hope you will enjoy the essay as much as I did.

Cindi Bigelow

“One day I had a great dream that I had never dreamed before. I imagined I would come to the United States. I was thinking about many things in my life and my family’s future. But it was very difficult for me to figure out, because I had three kids and a husband… The decision was not easy to make, but I did it. We were working very hard, but the money was not enough. Life everyday became more expensive, and the economy in my country was going down. I wanted better opportunities for us… My life has changed for the better. I like living in the United States. Here my life is simpler. I have found some new opportunities for me and my kids, but still it is the beginning.”

Maria
(Grand Prize Winner)

I had the best luncheon last week…I was honored with the Boy Scout of the Year award. Yes that is right, I won the “Good Scout” award for 2008 for our area (along with two other distinguished individuals in which I was proud to be a part of). The Good Scout award is presented to those who are good role models for the community (it must have been the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge that caught their eye…I must not be the only one who is proud of how much we raised for local charities!).

At 48 ½ I am now part of the Boy Scouts….I like that! But in all seriousness, what a great organization! They do such fine work in our community. To be chosen for this award was really special for me. I have to say, of all of the awards I have been fortunate to receive in my lifetime, this one means a little something extra!

Cindi Bigelow

What a spectacular day. The 21st annual Bigelow Tea Community Challenge was everything we could have hoped for! Almost 1000 participated in this event, and the weather really cooperated (the rain held off beautifully). We had almost 150 kids running in the Kid’s fun run, almost 200 joined the 2 mile walk and over 550 runners participated in our 5K…and with them they brought family members, strollers, dogs, smiles, and laughs…the perfect day!

In addition to putting on a great event, we raised the most money ever for our local charities, almost $85,000. A team of 15 plan this event over 9 months, and to see it come off as well as it did, all I can say is that is what it is all about. No question, one of my favorite things about running this family company is having the opportunity to give back to others and the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge is exactly that…giving back to others.

Cindi Bigelow

Tom Harding, 5K Winner

Photos courtesy of Jack McCoy Photography

The big day is coming up!! Yes our 21st Bigelow Tea Community Challenge is this Sunday (rain or shine), September 28th. We hold this wonderful family event at Wakeman’s boys and girls club in Southport CT. We hope to have over 1000 participants to either be in the kid’s fun run, the 2 mile fitness walk or the 5K road race. It is such a special event bringing together so many people in our community to raise money for local organization’s in need. This year we have already raised $85,000 – WOW! That just goes to show how generous and kind people truly are, even during these more challenging times.

I am so proud of the people in this company that make this event happen, the volunteers that come the day of and all those in our community that participate-together it creates a positive spirit beyond words!

This race has truly become a treasured event in our company….I will happily let you know the results when it is over. Yes rain or shine, everyone on that day is a winner in my book!

Cindi Bigelow

Bigelow Tea is proud to announce that it has just hosted its 20th Annual Community Challenge fundraiser with the help of a host of enthusiastic volunteers, sponsors and participants.  The event raised a record $60,000, the entirety of which will be distributed to thirteen local area charities.  More than 1,000 strong took the “challenge” and participated in Kids’ Fun Run, 2-mile walk and 5K race.