Torrential rains in North Oxford, Mass., didn't stop 200 people from turning up for the ninth annual New England Ride for Kids® on Aug. 20. The event raised more than $62,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF).
The motorcyclists followed their police escort over back country roads, past lush green fields and through quaint towns, arriving with the sun at Mount Holyoke College. There the riders joined a moving Celebration of Life program with three local brain tumor survivors.
Ralph, the father of 6-year-old Ryen, thanked the crowd for coming and said that every year felt like a "family reunion." Dr. Nicole Ullrich, a neuro-oncologist with Children's Hospital in Boston, told the participants, "PBTF is a tremendous asset to families afflicted by this terrible disease. Every year I'm more and more impressed with the grassroots fundraising all of you do."
The total raised in New England was $62,404. Top individual fundraiser honors went to Dave Odess and Perry Robertson of Randolph, Mass., who raised $9,000. The top club, GWRRA MA Chapter W from Whitinsville, turned in $12,065, and the customers of Venco Wings of Loudon, N.H., brought $11,176 to make it the top motorcycle business. Bill Hahn of Stafford Springs, Conn., won the grand prize, a brand-new Honda motorcycle.
Special thanks went to New England task force leaders Shirley and Wayne Anderson, visitation leader Dave Odess, the hardworking task force members and day-of-event volunteers, for hosting a great event.
