LOUISIANA MOTORCYCLISTS PUT HURRICANE DAMAGE ASIDE TO RIDE FOR KIDS® WITH BRAIN TUMORS Sometimes the most generous people are those who seem to have little left to give. How else to explain the outpouring of support at the third annual Louisiana Ride for Kids® on Oct. 23? Although the state’s residents are still recovering from the devastation of two hurricanes, local motorcyclists gave extra effort to raise more than $20,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s medical research and family support programs. As recently as last week, it was uncertain whether the Louisiana event could even take place. But thanks to the efforts of more than 200 motorcyclists, police officers, fundraisers, volunteers and patient families, the show had to go on! It was a perfect day for a ride, mild and sunny with clear blue skies, as they gathered at the SLEMCO facility in Lafayette. The police-escorted riders toured the scenic bayou country before looping back to attend a moving Celebration of Life program that featured two brave Ride for Kids® “stars,” 9-year-old Cameron and 19-year-old Brook. Cameron’s mom, Sherri, enthusiastically thanked the crowd for its dedication. “This research is so important,” she said. “Cameron would not be here without you!” The total raised at the Louisiana event was $20,326. Top individual fundraiser honors went to Bullet and Nancy McGee of Crowley, La., who raised $3,027. The top club, GWRRA LA Chapter B, raised $6,681, while the customers of Southside Cycle Shop of Lafayette made it the top motorcycle business with $7,492 in donations. Charles Porche of Mandeville, La., was the winner of a brand-new Honda motorcycle. Heartfelt appreciation went to Louisiana’s task force leaders, Bullet and Nancy McGee, Peggy and Bob Lee, and Anita and Charles Porche; their hardworking task force members and day-of-event volunteers for putting together such a joyful ride under challenging circumstances. 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, two national newsletters, online conferences, 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 final Ride for Kids® event of 2005 is on Sunday, Nov. 6 in Dunnellon, Fla. For more information about the Ride for Kids® and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, please visit www.rideforkids.org or www.pbtfus.org, or call (800) 253-6530.