For 24 years, John Hancock has been the lead sponsor of the Boston Marathon, and hundreds of Hancock employees have used waived entries to run the marathon. This is the third year that employees have been asked to fundraise on behalf of non-profits, and we will again be supporting Mayor Thomas Menino's teen summer jobs initiative.

Since the marathon takes place in the Boston area, John Hancock sees the non-profit marathon fundraising program as a way to give back to Boston, our U.S. headquarters. This year, employees participating in the program are required to raise a minimum of $1,500 to support summer jobs for Boston teens through the Fund for Parks and Recreation. These jobs play an important role in keeping students engaged in positive activities and out of trouble.

In 2008, employee runners raised enough funds to provide 77 summer jobs for teens at a cost of approximately $1,500 per youth. These jobs are in addition to the 500 Boston Summer Scholars positions provided by the Hancock -Boston Globe partnership. This brings John Hancock's total to 577 jobs - the most jobs funded by any corporation in the country.

For those marathon fundraisers based in Canada, Canada Helps, www.canadahelps.org, is available to assist you with online fundraising for Habitat for Humanity Canada.