By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Haddonfield Sun
Two Haddonfield residents will honor the memory of their friend and help raise money for cancer research at the annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in August.
Terese and Lynn Skelly are participating in the 31st Annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a charity bike-a-thon that raises more money than any other athletic fund-raising event in the country, according to Pan-Mass representatives.
The event will feature 5,000 cyclists from 36 states and eight countries who will ride with the goal of raising $31 million to support lifesaving adult and pediatric cancer care and research through Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s “Jimmy Fund.”
Terese and her husband Lynn will be riding with team “Just a Bump in the Road,” formed by Peter and Sharon Gallagher. The team was formed after the Gallagher’s daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 2 years old.
The Skellys have been participating in the event for the past four years, Terese said, and since then the Gallagher’s daughter has been treated for her Leukemia and came through the treatment well.
Unfortunately, Terese said Sharon was diagnosed several years ago with breast cancer and died a year-and-a-half ago. The team and the event have taken on a different meaning for the 12 members who ride each year, Terese said.
“The team is ‘Just a Bump in the Road,’ that’s what Sharon would always say when all of these obstacles would happen to the family,” Terese said. “When you ride in this event you feel like you’ve been through half of Massachusetts at the end. The warmth of the people watching us, cheering us on, offering us water and giving us support, it’s just great. It’s a very rewarding experience.”
The team will ride the 90-mile, one day course from Wellesley-Bourne route on Saturday, Aug. 7. Riders are expected to raise about $3,000 for the event, but the Skellys have already raised more than $6,000.
Cyclists choose from 10 routes of varying mileage designed to cater to all levels of cycling strength and time availability. Two-day rides include the original 190-mile Sturbridge to Provincetown route.
The organization was founded in 1980 and has raised $270 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The PMC is a model of fund-raising efficiency, according to representatives. In 2009, for the third consecutive year, the PMC donated 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause. The PMC generates more than half of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and it is Dana-Farber’s single largest contributor.
More than 250,000 individual contributions were made to last year’s fund-raising campaign.
Terese said interested donors can dedicate money to the “Just a Bump in the Road” team at PMC’s Web site, PMC.org. Visitors can search for Terese Skelly, Lynn Skelly or Peter Gallagher in the “Please Donate to a Rider Today” search box to donate to the team.
