About the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge
The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, presented by the Boston Red Sox Foundation and Overstock.com, is the nation's original fundraising bike-a-thon and today raises more money than any other athletic fundraising event in the country. The PMC is a model of fundraising efficiency. In 2007, the PMC donated 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.
PMC Mission
"The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge raises money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through an annual bike-a-thon that crosses the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since its founding in 1980, the PMC has successfully melded support from committed cyclists, volunteers, corporate sponsors and individual contributors. All are essential to the PMC's goal and model: to attain maximum fundraising efficiency while increasing its annual gift. Our hope and aspiration is to provide Dana-Farber's doctors and researchers the necessary resources to discover cures for all cancers."
The PMC is so well-known in cycling and fundraising circles that each year people travel from around the world to participate. The camaraderie shared by riders, volunteers, and supporters is among the PMC's greatest attributes. Doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute join their patients as teammates, riding for a unified goal. Over 200 PMC riders are cancer survivors. Thousands of riders and volunteers have lost loved ones to the disease. Still more ride in honor of those in treatment.
The PMC has contributed more than $200 million to lifesaving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since its 1980 inception. For more facts and figures, click the link to our PMC Fact Sheet.
[source: PMC web site]