QUINCY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Granite Telecommunications, LLC, a provider of communications solutions to businesses, last weekend celebrated its 13th annual Granite Day, hosting a day of family fun through a community event in support of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Thousands of community members visited Granite’s flagship headquarters in Quincy to enjoy the event, which included rides, games, music, food donated from local restaurants, arts and crafts and other entertainment. The Granite Day event helped raise more than $600,000 for Dana-Farber, bringing Granite’s annual total to almost $5 million and nearly $13 million in the past decade raised exclusively for Dana-Farber.
“Each year, Granite Day allows us to celebrate and give back to our local community,” said Rob Hale, CEO and founder of Granite. “The event is so successful because of the effort of our team members and assistance of our loyal partners as we continue to support the many multi-faceted programs and cutting-edge research at the world-renowned Dana-Farber.”
Granite and its employees have been long-time supporters of Dana-Farber in its mission to provide care for cancer patients and ongoing research for a cure to the disease. For Granite Day 2016, more than 180 Granite employees volunteered more than 3,200 hours to organize and coordinate the event. Just this past March, Granite and the Hale family collectively raised $4.25 million for Dana-Farber when more than 700 employees, joined by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch and several other Boston-area celebrities, shaved their heads at Granite’s third annual “Saving by Shaving” event.
With the help of friends in the local business community, the food, games and rides at Granite Day are opened to the public in exchange for a suggested donation of $5, which earns guests 20 tickets to be used to pay for the amusements. Granite team members work year-round with the community to coordinate donations of food and supplies from many popular local businesses, including Stop & Shop, Maggiano’s, Fratelli’s, Panera Bread, Lessing’s, Cathay Pacific Restaurant, La Paloma, Applebee’s, Chipotle, HP Hood, California Pizza Kitchen, Buccini’s Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings and Yasso.
Year after year, Granite has been honored as one of the most philanthropic companies in Massachusetts. In addition to the donations to Dana-Farber over the past several years, Granite has contributed more than $40 million to hundreds of different community organizations.
“We are deeply grateful for Granite’s ongoing commitment to furthering patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber,” said Brenda Goodell, associate vice president, event fundraising, Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund. “Community events like the 13th annual Granite Day personify the dedication the Hale family and everyone at Granite continues to give to our mission, and we are deeply appreciative of their efforts and generosity.”
About Granite
Granite provides voice, data and other related communications products and services to multi-location businesses and governmental agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Granite furnishes services to more than two-thirds of the Fortune 100 companies in the United States, and has 1.5 million phone and data lines under management. Granite employs over 1,600 people at the company’s headquarters in Quincy, MA and offices in Atlanta, GA, Miami, FL, New York, NY, Providence, RI, Chicago, IL and Dallas, TX. For more information, visit www.granitenet.com
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is world-renowned for its leadership in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research. Designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it is one of the largest recipients among independent hospitals of NCI and National Institutes of Health grant funding.
