July 29, 2025
Dear Family & Friends,
This weekend, on August 2 and 3, Walker’s Wings will hit the road again for our 14th Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC)! Along with 19 other teammates, my husband, Jeff Crisan, my son, Tommy, and I will ride 162 miles across Massachusetts to raise research and treatment funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston. Walker’s Wings remains deeply committed to bringing us all closer to a cure for all cancers with every single mile we ride.
Preparing for the PMC weekend inspires me to reflect and share my thoughts. This summer, my thoughts have centered on the concept of wonder. When I look closely, so much takes my breath away. A cardinal singing me a morning song as I begin a training ride. A jumbo jetplane flying so closely overhead that I feel it vibrate my road bike beneath me. A joyful, genuine smile, long tucked away, returning to a beloved face. The silence of a contemplative class of students, following the powerful question of a thought-provoking teacher. We are surrounded by awe-inspiring moments all the time. These are moments that take my breath away, leaving me filled with amazement.
With commitment and much training of my eyes, brain, and heart, I have worked very hard to find these precious moments of wonder each day. Looking for the “grander” moments of wonder often leaves me waiting, unsatisfied, impatient, and focused too much ahead and not enough in the present. Instead, I have tried so hard to open my eyes and ask: what wonder is around today? Witnessing the prideful display of new cooking skills in the kitchen. The smell and taste of a long forgotten family-recipe. The camaraderie on the playing field between new teammates. A friend who knows what to say and when to sit in silence with you. The reunion of special people eating a meal together, after a long separation. These small moments of wonder for me - somehow, often buried in plain view in an ordinary day - can be so sustaining and inspiring.
Indeed, loss, distraction, despair, impatience, and busyness - to name only a few - can mask our ability or even desire to observe moments of wonder. Sometimes, we may lack the ability or strength to observe the small wonders of our lives or relationships. I know that noticing breathtaking signs has been beyond me so many times, especially in recent years. And yet, even in those very hard times, we can mine for those moments of wonder to sustain us. A wise friend taught me that joy often exists right alongside grief. We just need to adjust our view to see them both.
As many of you know, our team, Walker’s Wings, rides to honor the courage, character, and strength of my beloved mother, Judy Walker, who passed away in 2011 from a very rare and aggressive type of cancer, Sarcoma. My mother received the best care imaginable from her dedicated, compassionate team at the DFCI in Boston (Kerry Belliveau, Dr. Jeffrey Morgan). The light, love, compassion, devotion, and joy that my mother brought to my life - and still does daily - is a central wonder of my life. How was I so deeply blessed to be her daughter?
In the face of a cancer diagnosis or treatment - and even, in the brutal throes of grief and loss after a setback or death from cancer - DFCI and the PMC are a living wonder - a rolling prayer, as my friend describes it. The PMC is a community of caring, committed individuals, including cancer patients and survivors, their caregivers and families, and even DFCI staff, all united by a single purpose: ending all cancers. 6,500 PMC riders moving along together - unstoppable in freezing rain, blasting heat, and even during tornado warnings - is awesome to behold. 3,500 PMC volunteers making fluff sandwiches, moving riders’ luggage, passing out gallons of water, fixing flat tires - makes one just wonder in admiration at the thousands of reasons why they serve in this way.
Because of the PMC’s 100% pass through rate, almost unheard of in the fundraising world, every dollar donated to support our PMC rides will go directly to support the Sarcoma Center Research Fund at DFCI. Jeff and I will continue to match every donation. As cancer of so many types has touched so many people, please email me if you would like your PMC donation to be dedicated to the general fund for cancer research and treatment at DFCI instead of to Sarcoma. We will gladly make sure that happens, and we will match it as well.
Over the last 13 PMC rides, with your overwhelming and unwavering generosity, Walker’s Wings has astonishingly raised over $3.95 million for research and treatment of Sarcoma and other cancers at DFCI. What an extraordinary, impactful tribute! Talk about WONDER! No words can ever describe the depth of my gratitude and awe. Walker’s Wings supporters and donors are exceptional.
In this critical - and scary - time when federal funding and grant support for cancer care and research is being reduced and restricted, Walker’s Wings - along with the entire PMC community - is doubling down on its commitment to supporting all the superlative work and care of DFCI. This year - more than ever before - we need your help.
Clicking on the link below will allow you to make a contribution in whatever amount you choose to support our ride this year.
http://www2.pmc.org/profile/JW0285
If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to PMC and forward it to me at 72 Hillside Terrace, Belmont, MA 02478. Donations may be made until September 30, 2025.
On behalf of my mother, my family, and all present and future DFCI patients and their families, my sincerest and deepest thank you for reading this email and for any contribution you are able to make.
As I close, for all of you struggling to see wonder right now, don’t give up. Even when you can’t see them, small wonders exist, waiting for you to see them. This weekend, Walker’s Wings and the entire PMC community will collectively roll thousands and thousands of miles across Massachusetts - imagine that awesome sight, feel that unwavering commitment and love, and wonder along with me.
With my deepest gratitude and love,
Jodi Walker
jeffjodi@comcast.net
