Riding for a Cure

Last weekend, Emma Zeiger, 10, rode her bike ten miles in the pouring rain at the first annual Newton-Needham Pan Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) Kids Ride. Nothing, not even bad weather, could stop her from making a difference.

This June, Emma and thousands of other kids across the Northeast participated in nearly 30 PMC Kids Rides. PMC Kids Rides raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. Created ten years ago by Ryan Wilkinson, 17, and his sister Hattie, 15, the rides are a more kid-friendly version of the annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC).

The First PMC Kids Ride

The Wilkinson family first got the idea to create a PMC Kids Ride in 1998 when Ryan, then 7, wanted to ride in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge.

Ryan and Hattie's grandmother had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor. "We were experiencing cancer for the first time," Ryan told TIME For Kids. "So that was on my mind when I said I wanted to ride."

Unfortunately, PMC participants have to be at least 15 years old to ride. Ryan was only seven. So, the Wilkinson family decided to start a children's version of the PMC. In just a couple of weeks, the Wilkinsons organized the Wildwood Challenge, the very first Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Kids Ride. Thirteen kids rode around a neighborhood block 25 times. They raised $1,600 for cancer research. On June 21, Ryan and Hattie will celebrate the eleventh annual Wildwood PMC Kids Ride.

Pedal Power

Since 1998, PMC Kids Rides have grown significantly. Every year, more and more kids participate. To raise money, kids do extra chores, babysit, host car washes and bake sales, and send out letters asking for donations. "Every penny counts," Hattie Wilkinson explains. "All of the money goes to a good cause."

Emma Zeiger agrees. "It's really great to be able to ride for people with cancer and to represent them and raise money for them," she told TIME for Kids.

Emma lost her father to cancer last August. He was a patient at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and rode in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge for five and a half years.

Emma rode in her first PMC Kids Ride last October. She raised $2,500. For the Newton-Needham PMC Kids Ride, Emma raised over $7,000. "It felt really good that I had raised the money and that I was helping people who had to battle cancer. I know my dad would have been happy." Emma and her friends and family wore purple shirts in honor of her dad's favorite color.

Since 1998, the Pan-Massachusetts Kids Rides have raised more than $1 million for cancer research and treatment. For more information, or to learn how you can get involved, check out the PMC Kids Rides website at kids.pmc.org.

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