Hi friends!
This Sunday, August 3rd, for year #4, I’ll be hopping on a tandem bike with my new WIIIIIIIIFE, Buggy as part of Team Opa! Opa!!! We are riding to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the life-saving research they lead.
The Pan-Mass Challenge raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. Every mile we ride helps bring us closer to a cure for cancer. This year, we’re aiming to raise $40,000 to help Dana-Farber continue their groundbreaking research, and I’d be so grateful for your help getting us there.
Whether it's $5 or $500, every single dollar goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Yes 100% directly to cancer research.
Why I Ride:
My mother-in-law, Stacy, is a Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor and Living Proof of what Dana-Farber and the PMC can do. The treatment that saved her life was directly funded by donations like yours—transforming a clinical trial into a new standard of care for advanced lymphoma in record time. That’s the power of PMC.
This summer, Buggy and I got married in Greece—a day we never thought Stacy would live to see. Despite lasting side effects from her treatment, she was back to being the queen of the party, dancing on tables and celebrating life with all of us. Not a moment went by where we did not feel so grateful. It was nothing short of a miracle.
This year, with cancer research funding facing major cuts, Dana-Farber needs our support more than ever. One of Stacy's lead doctors—at the forefront of lymphoma research—lost funding for his lab and had to leave Dana-Farber. Let’s make sure that never happens again.
As Stacy says, “The PMC is more than a fundraiser. It’s a lifeline. To every patient, every survivor, every grieving family, and to our own family. The PMC community, Dana-Farber, and each of you have helped carry us through some of the hardest days of our lives. And now we ride in celebration, in gratitude, and with renewed urgency.”
What We've Accomplished — and Why We Still Need You:
With your support, Team Opa! Opa!!! has kicked butt — but there's so much more to do:
- Over $250,000 raised in the past 3 years
- One of the top fundraising teams in the PMC community
- Most individual donors ever to a single PMC rider
- Top 10 PMC fundraiser out of 6,000+ riders
- And most importantly: your support, and the PMC community, gives Stacy and others like her the strength to keep pedaling
Just because you’re not riding the PMC in person doesn’t mean you can’t join the Greek party with Team Opa! Opa!!! Take out a bike—or hop on a Peloton—anytime during the weekend of August 3rd, snap a photo, and send it our way! From Tokyo to Toronto, last year’s virtual riders gave us wings and helped spread the word in beautiful ways. We’ll be sharing photos and donation links on Instagram all weekend—and we’d love to tag you in the ride.
Let’s do this. LFG Team Opa! Opa!!! Thank you for your support!
Mattias
