Year SEVEN! I am so incredibly excited to finally join the rest of the Crew for the 2-day ride to Provincetown this year.

My cousins occupy most of my favorite memories from childhood. We spent so much time together – from summers camping up in New Hampshire, walkie talkies shoved in our pockets as we explored the woods, to so many sleepovers, playing the silly games we would make up for hours.

We lived in such a safe little bubble until life got really real, really quick. In November of 2011, my cousin Evan was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) at only 11 years old. Unfortunately, exactly one year after his diagnosis, he passed away.

And that is why we ride. We ride to remember Evan, the boy who frequently had mischief in his eyes and a chocolate chip cookie in his hand. We ride so there is hope for other families. Everything we do from January through October is all about raising funds and awareness for DIPG; it has become who we are, and is a mission we tackle with the same spirit of our sweet cousin who fought this terrible disease.

Five years ago, in the midst of a global pandemic, we reached an incredible fundraising milestone of $1,000,000. An amount of money that appears virtually unobtainable, yet twelve years later, our total amount fundraised for DIPG research at Dana Farber has surpassed it. There aren’t quite the words to express how incredibly thankful we are for the support from family and friends over the past 12 years. Their generosity is unmatched and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

So here I am, back with my trusty red tutu for year 7. Riding for Evan and riding for a cure.

100% of all donations made to Team Evan's Crew will directly fund DIPG research at Dana-Farber through the Evan T. Mandeville DIPG Research Fund.