About FMi
Corporate Social Responsibility
At the core of FMi’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative are the family values of our employees. They guide our actions and nurture our dedication to be exemplary corporate citizens in every community in which we do business.
To strengthen our commitment to give back and help strengthen society, we strive to do our part in numerous ways — both personally and professionally — that reflect our continual commitment to:
- Charitable causes
- Community involvement
- Environmental issues
By Supporting our VP, You Help Make a Difference...
Ask anyone at FMi, and he or she will tell you that if there’s one thing their Vice President Peter H. Macaluso is not a practitioner of, it’s self-promotion. In fact, he’s not much of a talker at all, except when it comes to his business, and just as importantly, his efforts on behalf of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS). That’s why everyone at the company is supporting Peter’s fundraising efforts, and helping him earn some well-deserved recognition as the Society’s “Man Of The Year” by making it possible for him to bring in the largest amount of donations.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), eventually losing his battle in 2004. Like his father, Eric has been a long-time, active executive board member and nationally-certified cycle coach for the LLS’ Team in Training (TNT). The largest sports endurance program of its kind in the country, TNT helps train athletes 16 years of age and older, including both brothers, to compete in century (100-mile) rides, hikes, walking events, and various marathon events for the purpose of raising needed funds for LLS.
Peter has shown a desire to do practically anything to raise money in the effort to find a cure for leukemia and lymphoma, from golf outings and his competitive endeavors with TNT to sliding into a vat of frozen cherry gelatin at a fundraising event on Long Island. His tireless work gained him a nomination last year for the Society’s Man (or Woman) Of The Year award, and the entire FMi family wants 2012 to be Peter H. Macaluso’s year to shine.
Right now happens to be an extremely important, and exciting, period in the history of cancer research. The emergence of “Smart Drugs”, and other advanced therapies — beginning with the drug Gleevec®, developed with the help of LLS funding and introduced
in 2001 — is moving the world ever closer to finding a cure. In the words of noted
researcher Charles Sayer of the Howard Hughes Medical Center at UCLA, Gleevec® was “a kind of blueprint for what’s going to happen against other cancers”. Which, according to Peter and many others, is why now is such an important to keep the engines of research running at peak capacity.
“I’m a retirement specialist,” notes Peter; “and I love helping our clients provide for the long-term comfort and security of their employees. My greatest joy, though, would be to see Leukemia and Lymphoma eradicated so that all the amazing people at LLS could retire from this cause, and put their immense skills and talents toward another equally worthy challenge.”
As stated above, there’s absolutely no vanity in Peter Macaluso’s desire to be named LLS Man Of The Year:
“There’s only one reason I want to win this award” emphasizes Peter; “because the person who does will have raised the most money to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s search for a cure. Of course, if everyone else and myself all raise a lot of money, and it just happens we all have the same amount, that’s cool, too.”
A TEAM EFFORT WITH A SINGLE GOAL
It’s one they share with Team In Training, or TNT, a fundraising sports endurance program that trains those 16 and older to participate effectively in triathlons, century rides, marathons, hikes, and walking events. For many years, FMi has been a staunch supporter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Long Island Chapter of TNT.
“For my brother Peter and myself, this is a personal crusade, as we lost our father (Peter L. Macaluso) in 2004 following a tough battle against leukemia,” explains FMi President Eric Macaluso. “It’s a great program that has trained over 440,000 participants and raised over $1 billion to fund research and treatment advances for cancer patients all over the world.”
As an active executive board member for the past three years, and a nationally-certified cycle coach, Eric helps people train bi-monthly to complete their competitive event. “TNT is the largest sports endurance training program in the country,” he says, “and the Society believes it’s one of the top five experiences in any person’s life. It’s a team event...no one finishes alone. We don’t compete against people, but towards a goal.”
Over the last decade, FMi has sponsored numerous events, raising more than $100,000 for the cause. “I’m very proud that, in addition to our corporate fundraising efforts, FMi employees have raised tens of thousands of dollars on their own,” adds Peter Macaluso. “Eight have participated in over 76 events, and my brother has competed in 50 of those. We also have 17 employees who have volunteered their time and service at literally hundreds of events across the country. Eric and I are extremely appreciative of their efforts, all of which honor our father and countless others who have fought against these diseases.”
Team in Training encompasses all four seasons, and lasts roughly 20 weeks in total. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Long Island Chapter brings participants to local, national, even international events, with each person responsible for generating fundraising minimums per event ranging from $1900-$5000. The Chapter oversees two training locations, one each in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
As an executive board member, Eric makes specified donations to TNT on a quarterly basis, in addition to his activities as a coach and sporting participant. “Eric Macaluso is dedicated to the mission of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Long Island Chapter” states Tara Murphy, Manger of Special Events. “This is clearly evident in his activities as a board member, as well as his continuing work as both coach and participant for LLS Team in Training. The Chapter is fortunate to have such an advocate.”
In addition to Eric’s many contributions to LLS and the TNT program, Peter is also an active volunteer for the Society as well as an occasional sporting participant in TNT-related events.
Putting the ‘Fun’ in Fund-Raising
FMi Pension Administrators Take the Plunge for a Good Cause
Like any complex system with multiple moving parts, FMi works best when all its components work right. Ever since founder Peter L. Macaluso set his new enterprise sailing three decades ago, that’s meant more than researching and employing the smartest retirement strategies – it’s meant keeping FMi’s heart as strong as its brains.
Keeping the spirit of its founder in mind, FMi has always been generous in support of numerous good causes. Each holiday season, in lieu of office gifts, employees donate funds and dedicate them to various charities.
The company is also a loyal long-term supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a leading national force in the fight against leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. FMi’s president, Eric Macaluso, has sat on the board for three years and has helped the LLS raise over 200k. The cause is especially poignant for Peter L.’s sons, Peter H. and Eric, FMi’s Vice President and President: Their dad passed away in 2004 after a tough leukemia battle.
So it was with mixed emotions – and a firm grasp of the comical – that FMi, as it does each year, sent two intrepid volunteers to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 24th annual Gello Slide, held in June at the Hilton Long Island hotel in Melville. The event sends volunteers from outside companies sliding into enormous vats of a frozen gelatin-based dessert substance – watch the trademarks, please – to raise funds for society efforts.
This year’s FMi dunk-ees were Pension Administrator Patty Maguire and Senior Pension Administrator Anthony Milano, along with his daughter, Alexandra. The joyful jumpers completed several gello slides to help FMi raise $500 of the $50,000 generated by the June 18 event.
“They picked us a week prior to the event,” Patty said, noting last year’s FMi slider was Peter H. “We send different people every year, and it was our turn.”
Anthony was happy to do his part, donning a T-shirt and bathing suit and making two plunges into the cherry-flavored depths. “It was cold in there,” he noted. “Very, very cold.”
Even happier was Alexandra, 8, who completed at least 10 slides for the cause, according to her dad. “She loved it,” Anthony said. “She really thought it was cool.”
Anthony was sure to keep his mouth tightly closed each time he landed in the giant vat (“I did not want to eat any.”) And despite the deep freeze and some general stickiness, he said braving the slide to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was “totally, 100-percent worth it.”
Patty agreed, adding, “I love that FMi is involved with this event—not only is it a unique and memorable experience, but it is even better being part of a company that is community-minded and socially aware.”
