Chelmsford-Westford PMC Kids Ride to raise money to help fight cancer: June 1

CHELMSFORD, WESTFORD, Mass. – This summer, the Chelmsford-Westford Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) Kids Ride will be one of 37 PMC Kids Rides throughout New England and beyond. In 2013, the PMC Kids Rides program attracted nearly 4,700 cyclists, ages 2 to 15, who rode between one and 26 miles in mini bike-a-thons to raise money for cancer care and research.

The PMC Kids Rides are spokes in the PMC wheel, joining the more than 5,500 adult PMC cyclists in their mission to fund adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. The PMC is a two-day, 190-mile bike-a-thon held the first weekend of every August. Since 1980, the PMC has raised $414 million for the Jimmy Fund.

PMC Kids Rides offer a way for children to become part of the PMC mission, involving young people in volunteerism and fundraising in a safe and athletic way. Since the first ride in 1998, The PMC Kids Rides program has raised more than $5.5 million.

To provide the young cyclists with an additional push, the PMC recognizes cyclists in the Kids Rides program who raise $250 or more. Riders who meet this goal are honored as Heavy Hitters and receive an official PMC sack pack and certificate to acknowledge their fundraising achievements. 

The fifth annual Chelmsford-Westford PMC Kids Ride expects 75 children, ages 8 to17, to ride 10- or four- miles down the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail starting at Byam Elementary School in Chelmsford. A Tiny Tots Ride will be available for children riding tricycles and training wheels. The event was started by Jessica Ryan and Claire Enos as two high school students who lost loved ones to cancer. While Jessica is away at college, three additional high school students, Jake Ryan, Kevin Enos and Reilly Enos, are helping Claire to organize the ride. The Chelmsford-Westford PMC Kids Ride will offer complementary ice cream, games and music after the ride. The event hopes to raise $7,000.

The Chelmsford-Westford PMC Kids Ride will be held on Sunday, June 1 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at 25 Maple Road in Chelmsford. There is a $10 registration fee and a $30 fundraising minimum. PMC Kids Rides are sponsored by the Yawkey Foundation. Contributions can be made payable to the Pan-Mass Challenge. To register, visit http://kids.pmc.org/chelmsford. For more information email Claire Enos at jc.pmckids@gmail.com or call 800-WE-CYCLE.

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