EG Boy, 7, to Participate in Pan-Mass Challenge Ride

This June, local athlete Zachary Gessman, 7, of East Greenwich will participate for the first time in the Westwood Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) Kids Ride to raise money for cancer research and treatment. Prior to the ride, next Monday and Thursday he will sell popsicles during the U9, U11 and U13 lacrosse practices to help boost his PMC fundraising campaign. Popsicles will be sold for $1 each with all proceeds going directly to the cause.  

On Sunday, June 8, Gessman will trade his lacrosse stick in for his bicycle to join the 500 children, ages 3 to 15, expected to participate in the Westwood PMC Kids Ride. They will ride one of three routes of varying mileage around the Martha Jones School in Westwood, Mass. There will be a celebration after the ride, which will include a raffle for top fundraisers, as well as a guest appearance by PMC Founder and Executive Director Billy Starr. The ride hopes to raise $65,000, which will bring the event’s seven year PMC contribution to more than $300,000.

The Westwood PMC Kids Ride will be one of 37 mini bike-a-thons to take place throughout New England and beyond this spring, summer and fall. The PMC Kids Rides are spokes in the PMC wheel, joining the more than 5,800 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.

For more information about Gessman’s popsicles sales and how to support his ride, contact Laura Gessman at Lgessman@verizon.net. To learn more about the PMC Kids Rides program, to start a ride in your area, or participate in an existing ride, visit www.kids.pmc.org or call Justine Darmanian at (781)449-5300 ext. 300 for spring 2014 rides.