As a cancer survivor whose family lost two much loved members to cancer in 2018, I joined the CNG team in 2019 to ride the PMC. It was an inspiring and transformative event for me and is hugely important to so many who are affected by this disease.
This was an opportunity to play a very small part in the ongoing battle against cancer, in which our daughters, Emma and Becky, work with and treat those affected on a daily basis.
I rode again in 2020, but given the ongoing Pandemic, we did so remotely. Since then I have focused Cancer fund raising efforts on Connecticut's 'Closer to Free Ride'. I plan to ride in the Yale event again this year, but will also be back in Mass to ride Day 1 of the PMC from Storbridge to Bourne.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute continues to work tirelessly to fulfill their mission to provide extraordinary care and perform critical cancer research.
Each year, funds raised by PMC riders account for almost 20% of Dana-Farber's annual unrestricted giving. The PMC's unrestricted fundraising this year will help underwrite the Emergency Response Fund to support:
- Unanticipated additional costs to keep cancer patients safe and prevent infection as they receive lifesaving treatments;
- New expenses for telemedicine technology that allows patients and families to visit with their Dana-Farber care team virtually;
- Pressing financial strains felt by patients and caregivers who lose employment or experience disruptions in dependent care due to school and other closures;
- Flexible funding for research and care due to the cancellation or postponement of hundreds of spring fundraising events benefitting Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund; and
- Obtaining additional personal protective equipment and supplies to keep staff and patients safe.
The Pan Mass Challenge continues to be the largest find raiser for Dana Farber and continues to commit that...
- 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar will go to Dana-Farber
- All directed funds will be attributed to their designated areas
If you have read this far, I appreciate it.
And thank you for any contibution that you feel you are able to give at this time.
Stay safe, stay healthy
Mark
PS...The image above, is the 2019 version of the T-shirt CNG (my employer) produces every year to memorialize the many loved ones that our employees have lost to cancer over the years. If you click on the Gallery button, you will also see some other photos from 2019 and 2020
