MOTORCYCLISTS JOIN MINNESOTA RIDE FOR KIDS® TO RAISE FUNDS TO FIGHT PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMORS Overcast skies cleared and the sun shone brightly in White Bear Lake, Minn., as 450 motorcyclists, fundraisers, physicians and patient families gathered for the 13th annual Minnesota Ride for Kids® on Sunday, July 24. The event raised $81,746 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s research and family support programs. Sparkling lakes and green fields were the backdrop of the police-escorted motorcycle ride. It was followed by a special Celebration of Life program featuring nine young brain tumor survivors””the Ride for Kids® “stars” of the day. “When there is a Will, there is a way,” read the T-shirts created as a fundraiser by brain tumor survivor Will, who graduated from college two years ago with the help of a PBTF scholarship. Rick, the father of 13-year-old survivor Josh, thanked the fundraisers for their hard work. Josh’s treatment was part of a study funded by the PBTF. “I can’t express to you how much what you are doing means to me,” Rick told the crowd. Dr. Joseph Neglia, a pediatric oncologist at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center, told the group how important their fundraising is. “The research we’re doing today will result in better treatments in less than five years,” he said. “We know this because the research of five years ago has resulted in better treatments that are being used today.” Top individual fundraiser honors went to Bruce and Sandy Schafer of Eagan, Minn., who raised $7,800. The top club, MN Wings-Twin Cities Chapter, brought in $12,385, and the customers of The Hitching Post of St. Paul raised $13,189 to make it the top motorcycle business. Sandy Schafer of Eagan was the lucky winner of a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Special thanks went to Minnesota’s Ride for Kids® task force leaders””Tippy Scully, Denny Schouveller Sr. and Sandy and Bruce Schafer””and their hardworking volunteer force for putting on a great event. Proceeds of the events fund the medical research and family support programs of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Since 1984, the national Ride for Kids® program and PBTF have supported childhood brain tumor research and family support programs. Programs include free literature about brain tumors, the Helping Hand and Caring Hand national newsletters, the Informed Parent Internet Conference series and college scholarships for young brain tumor survivors. Thanks to the thousands of caring and generous motorcyclists and motorcycle dealers who have supported the program since its inception, PBTF has become the world’s largest non-governmental source of funding for pediatric brain tumor research. The next Ride for Kids® event is on Saturday, July 30 in Marysville, Ohio. For more information about the Ride for Kids® and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit rideforkids.org or pbtfus.org, or call (800) 253-6530.