Photo: Jay Willett/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) celebrated a record breaking donation at a gala in Fenway on Saturday night.
The annual PMC athletic fundraiser in August garners thousands of cyclists to take on a trek across Massachusetts, where 100 percent of the proceeds is donated to research and treatments at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This year, 6,800 riders took part and raised a record donation of $75 million dollars for the Dana-Farber and Jimmy Fund, Founder and Director Billy Starr announced at the PMC’s One in a Billion Celebration on Saturday. This year’s contribution also marked the total amount raised to surpass one billion dollars in the last 45 years.
Starr told WBZ NewsRadio that PMC not only motivates more funding towards causes like cancer research but also provides lots of hope for people as well.
“The bulk of it is all of the magic, the secret-sauce, that happens on PMC weekend, which is living in a world that you can’t live in often enough,” he continued.
Since the first PMC ride in 1980, the fundraiser has raised and donated a total of $1.047 billion dollars.
Brian, who pedaled the 211 miles in August, said it’s very special to see the money contributing tremendously to the cause. “It was like the best year ever,” he added. “The weather, the crowd, the goal for a billion is just on everyone’s mind.”
For Denise and her family, coming out and supporting the fundraiser has been a tradition. “We all come together for the PMC first weekend in august so it’s always special,” she said.
The milestone hit this year continues in 2025, where the next PMC ride will take place on the first weekend of August.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jay Willett (@JayWillettWBZ) reports.
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