Cast a stone, create many ripples

Cast a stone, create many ripples

One of my favorite quotes is from the revered Mother Theresa. She once said – “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” We all have the ability make a difference and create our own ripples. Here’s my story.

In August I will be setting out on my 14th Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC). Each year I have ridden 192 miles across Massachusetts for this incredible cause. The PMC is an annual bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single fundraising event in the country. Founded in 1980, the PMC has raised $500 million for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund.

As we set out on my first ride, I had no idea that it would be a life-changing event for me. It was a great weekend. With a letter mailed to family and friends along with a few emails I raised $6,135 in 2004. I was prepared physically (because I was young!), and I had raised the minimum fundraising requirement. I was quite impressed with myself!

I was moved that first day and even more so the day after. Mile after mile I was bombarded with messages being held up on the side of the road reading things like “Thank you for saving my life” or “I’m alive today because of you”. Could I really being making a difference in this fight just by riding my bike?

I was hooked and immediately signed up to ride the following year. I decided to take the fundraising a little more seriously in my second year and put a little effort in to it. An expanded email list and a photocopied letter left at friends’ desks. Wow! Results. $7,895 raised in 2005. 

Then things got personal – and fast. My beautiful and kind mother-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer and died a painful and miserable death shortly thereafter. This PMC was no longer about me. My third ride – 2006 was a hard one. Just three months after my mother-in-law died, I rode with her picture on my handle bars. I doubled my fundraising efforts and miraculously raised $11,000 that year.

Year after year there has been a story to inspire. My sister-in-law - Dawn. My colleague’s daughter – Lia. My colleague’s wife – Jane. My boss’s wife – Debbie. And my colleague and friend Ryan’s parents – within months of each other this year. My friend, fellow rider, and cancer survivor – Jim. And of course, the dozens of Pedal Partners I have the pleasure of interacting with each year. Story after story. I began placing greater focus on my fundraising and introduced a color mailer in 2007 which I mailed with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I was able to raise $16,650. My two daughters and husband started getting involved and we’d stuff my envelopes over pizza. In 2008 I raised $20,000.

When people know you are involved and passionate about a cause like cancer they often will open up to you about their own stories. You’ll be in the locker room and someone will tell you that their mom died of throat cancer. Or you’ll be in the elevator and someone will thank you for your work because they are a breast cancer survivor. It’s beautiful, but also frightening. Cancer never leaves your thoughts, and you pray that you will never be impacted first hand. But I was.

In May of 2009 my Dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. May is about when I start training every year for the ride. I spent each and every one of those approximately 900 training miles that year thinking about my Dad. When I would visit him during treatment we would talk about how he would most certainly be well enough by August to go to his usual spot along the course to see me ride. He had done so every single year since my first.

Sadly, he just didn’t feel well enough on the day of the ride. That day, I “saddled” up with a big sign on my back that said “My Dad is my hero”. I rode the entire weekend wearing it and got many well wishes from fellow riders. The week after the PMC I visited my Dad. I climbed in to bed with him and showed him the sign I wore. I showed him all of the pictures I took. Oh how I loved that man. He left me a week later. In lieu of flowers, we asked family and friends to make donations to my PMC ride. I was able to raise nearly $28,000 in for life-saving cancer research.

So I continued to ride and find new ways to raise money to find a cure for his terrible disease. 2010-2014 included a larger mailing list and the addition of an annual party and raffle to honor my Dad. My “Toast to Coach” (the grandchildren called my Dad Coach) fundraiser has allowed me to raise over $40,000 for the last two years.

2015 was a big year. I turned 50 and set my goal at $50,000. I introduced the “PMC Pedal Puppy Calendar” as part of my fundraising initiative. The calendar featured 12 dogs decked out in PMC cycling gear! The result? $53,000 raised.

In 2016, I reduced my goal to a more reasonable $40,000 (with the hope of exceeding it of course)! During a long ride several weeks ago, I got to thinking about all of the Pediatric Oncology patients being helped by the PMC. Each and every one of those children show courage and resilience. That’s when it came to me – “The PMC Peddy Teddy”! my 2016 fundraising initiative included 200 fluffy teddy bears that I sold for $20 each. People could choose to keep their bear or donate to the Jimmy Fund Clinic. The best part? I hand-stitched a heart on each bear’s chest made out of material from one of my previous 12 PMC jerseys!

So here I am, 16 days from my 2017 ride. Recently unemployed, it’s going to be a little more difficult to reach my goal of $40,000. After all, it’s a lot harder to give people the “Still waiting for your donation” stare when you are not seeing them each day while getting your salad in the café. I’m currently at $33,000 and have several Spinathons and “Beat Cancer Boot Camps” planned to reach my goal of $40,000. You can be sure I won’t stop casting stones until I get there.

If you’d like to donate to my 2017 ride go to www.pmc.org/LS0135. Every dollar donated will go directly to life-saving cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.