Marysville, Kansas City Ride for Kids® raise over $109,000 The Ride for Kids® program raised $109,610 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® over the weekend at events in Marysville, Ohio, and Overland Park, Kan. Marysville makes it happen The community of Marysville, Ohio, celebrated 19 years of Ride for Kids® on Saturday, July 24. Over 210 motorcyclists were on hand for the event, which raised $70,560 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation®. Riders left the new start point, Scotts Miracle-Gro headquarters, at 10 a.m. for a tour of Union County’s back roads. Ninety minutes later, they were back for a Celebration of Life program that honored six local brain tumor survivors: Jason, Seth, Erin, Jared, Robert and Caitlin, a PBTF scholarship recipient. The riders also heard from pediatric oncologist Dr. Randal Olshefski of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, who compared the fight against childhood cancer to the Tour de France. “The researchers are the main riders trying to get to the summit, the research assistants are the team riders and the fundraisers are the backbone that keeps the team going,” he said. Marysville’s top fundraisers were: * Individuals: Ken & Carol Denman, $10,633 * Club/Chapter: GWRRA OH-D3, $21,185 * Motorcycle Business: Honda Marysville Motorsports, $16,724 Task force leaders Ken and Carol Denman and their hardworking volunteers deserve the thanks for organizing a terrific event for the kids. Stars shine in Kansas City The seventh Kansas City Ride for Kids® raised $39,050 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® yesterday. Over 200 enthusiastic motorcyclists and other supporters came to Johnson Community College in Overland Park on a hot, muggy day to show nine local brain tumor survivors how much they care. Those “stars” were Collins, Ben, J.T., Carter, Noah, Elizabeth, Jake, Xander and Dorene. Many of them accompanied the ride through Heritage Park, past beautiful horse farms and historic homesteads, and around Lake Olathe. Back at the college, the riders heard personal stories from the stars, their parents and a local pediatrician, Dr. Richard Shore of Children’s Mercy Hospital. Nine-year-old survivor Noah spoke for many when he said, “Thank you all riders. We appreciate you and hope you will come back next year.” Many people contributed to the ride total, and the leading fundraisers were: * Individuals: Gary & Mary Droege, $6,740 * Club/Chapter: Motorcycle Touring Assn. MO-1, $7,783 * Motorcycle Business: Hub Cycle, $7,968 Thanks also went to the local volunteer task force, led by Jeff Griswold and Darren Marshall. About the PBTF Ride for Kids® The national Ride for Kids® program and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF) promote childhood brain tumor research and provide family support through free literature about brain tumors, educational newsletters, online conferences and college scholarships. The 2010 Ride for Kids® season continues on Aug. 1 with events in Hudson Valley and Wisconsin. For more information, go to http://www.rideforkids.org/ or call 800-253-6530.