Executive Pastry Chef Paul Hayward on the Ben and Jerry's Electric Freezer Bike Photo: Warren Grant

Paradise Island, Bahamas - As a part of its mandate to give back to the community Ben and Jerry’s Atlantis, headed by Executive Pastry Chef Paul Hayward, has quickly become a fixture at the annual Ride for Hope in Eleuthera. This past weekend, Chef Paul along with Ben and Jerry’s Regional Business Consultant for Atlantis Jennifer Merrell, Store Manager Monique Pinder (a cancer survivor herself) and Soda Jerk Cleveland Clarke packed a trailer (a caravan of ice cream if you will) and headed to beautiful Governor’s Harbour Eleuthera.

With a plan to support 700 adults and 200 children with free ice cream as a reward for riding and volunteering, the Ben and Jerry’s team made a total charitable donation of almost $10,000 in product, water bottles for all riders as well as sponsoring this year’s Team Kerzner Jersey for up to 50 members.

Also, the time travelling, preparing and serving ice cream was donated as time off by the staff.

Jennifer Merrell, Ben and Jerry's Regional Business Consultant rides 100 miles Photo: Warren Grant

Early on Saturday the team had a booth fully stocked with the many flavours offered by Ben and Jerry’s and as a special and appropriate surprise, Chef Paul himself set out for 20 miles on the custom Atlantis/Ben and Jerry’s electric bicycle complete with rear freezer stocked with ice cream bars.

“This was by far the biggest charity event we have ever done through Ben & Jerry’s at Atlantis and took over 4 months to plan due to the sheer distance and logistics involved of getting to Governors Harbour, Eleuthera with all equipment and ice cream from Atlantis,” said Hayward.

“The trip on Bahamas Ferries took approximately 8 hours from door to door through high winds, rain and rough seas causing half of the boat to be sick and then arriving at the island in complete darkness with few lights and restricted to 25mph max speed due to the weight of the trailer, road conditions and lighting,” he continued.

“Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen once said, ‘Business has a responsibility to give back to the community.’ We liked the sound of it so much; we even made a bumper sticker out of it! And, of course, we also made connecting with our community a part of our culture. As you might expect, we donate loads of ice cream each year to community organizations around the country to help them celebrate a special event, draw a crowd, or advance fundraising efforts within their communities,” said Merrell.

Soda Jerk Cleveland Clarke and Manager Monique Pinder Photo: Warren Grant

“On the personal side of things, I lost 2 very important family members (my grandmother who loved to bake cookies, cakes, and anything with sugar and needed the help of her granddaughter and my uncle who always made sure his niece knew how to have fun) to aggressive, quick spreading cancers. After watching the deteriorating of these members of my family, I have been an avid supporter of cancer research and early detection education. To me, this ride reminded me of all the great times I had with each of these family members and how thankful I am for continuous research into finding a cure for this deadly disease. The overall experience and support from the local community, volunteers, and other riders made this bike ride one to remember and something I hope to participate in again in the future.”