Pan-Massachusetts Challenge
August 2-3, 2008
On the first weekend of August, more than 5,000 cyclists from 36 states and eight countries rode across the Commonwealth in the 28th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. Their goal was to raise $28 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund and bring the PMC's total Jimmy Fund contribution to the $200 million mark.
Connecting athleticism to charitable fundraising was a new idea in 1980 when PMC Founder Billy Starr and 35 of his friends rode across Massachusetts and raised $10,200 for cancer research. Today, athletic events raise more than $1 billion each year, funding crucial programs at health and human service organizations across the country. The PMC leads the pack. The bike-a-thon raises and contributes more than twice the sum of any athletic fundraising event in the country. It is also the most efficient. For the past few years, the PMC's contribution to the Jimmy Fund has represented 99 cents of every rider-raised dollar.
The PMC is so respected in cycling and fundraising circles that each year people travel from all over the world to participate. Cyclists choose between seven routes that range from 47 to 190 miles. The camaraderie shared by cyclists, volunteers, and supporters is among the PMC's greatest attributes. Doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute join their patients as teammates to ride for a unified goal. Nearly 300 PMC cyclists and volunteers are cancer survivors or current patients. Thousands of riders have lost loved ones to the disease. Still more ride in honor of those in treatment.
The PMC fundraising minimum is between $1,000 and $3,600, depending on the route chosen, yet the average PMC cyclist raises over $6,000. This commitment to the fundraising portion of the PMC journey is a testament to riders' dedication to the cause and their belief in the PMC mission. Hundreds have been members of the PMC family for more than 20 years. The PMC averages an annual 70 percent rider retention rate, and because of the high demand, each January, registration for most routes closes within weeks of opening. From organizing luggage and unloading trucks to cooking meals and manning waterstops, more than 2,500 PMC volunteers fill jobs that are typically paid positions, thus enhancing the event's efficiency and culture of giving. The PMC is presented by the Red Sox Foundation, Overstock.com, and Covidien. Another 200 companies support the event through donations of goods, services, and money.
The PMC is nationally recognized as a model in fundraising efficiency, it generates half of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue and it is Dana-Farber's largest contributor. "The PMC has made what we do at Dana-Farber possible," says Edward J. Benz Jr., MD, president of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "When they write the history of how cancer was conquered, the PMC will be in chapter one." For more information about the PMC, visit www.pmc.org.
