Houston Ride for Kids star Josh (left) gets ready to roll.
Motorcyclists in Texas and North Carolina combined to raise $444,967 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) on May 1.
Houston heats up the season
The 19th Houston Ride for Kids set a fundraising record this year, beating its previous totals with $335,043 in donations for the PBTF.
With MotoGP champion Kevin Schwantz in the lead, the riders traveled from the civic center in Humble through rural areas, making two sweeping U-turns that gave them a chance to see long columns of bikes.
When they returned for an awards ceremony and celebratory program, the crowd of 1,150 cheered the accomplishments of Houston’s 18 Ride for Kids stars — Calvin, Cesar, Daniel, Darla, Ethan, Garrett, Jake, Javier, Josh, Kaitlyn, Laura, Leon, Michael A., Michael G., Nick, Noah, Tobin, and Victor.
Many of the children spoke, as did a parent and a pediatric oncologist.
“We have made progress in surgery, but we need more people like you to help us raise money,” said Dr. Jack Su of Texas Children’s Hospital. “We need a breakthrough and we need to work harder to find a cure.”
Houston’s top fundraisers were:
• Individuals: Steve and Judy Ferguson, $30,668
• Club/chapter: GWRRA TX-C, $79,267
• Motorcycle business: Northwest Honda, $207,871
Congratulations to the winners of drawing prizes from Ride for Kids sponsors: Maurice Maness (Honda motorcycle); David Southwell (
Dunlop tire); Everett Hunt (AGV helmet); David and Petie Lebanowski (Tourmaster gift certificate); and Rick and Sherry Lowe (Cardo Scala Rider headset).
The Houston Ride for Kids was made possible by the enormous efforts of local volunteers. Leading the team were Ronnie Lunsford, Steve and Judy Ferguson, David and Petie Lebanowski, and Debbie and Britt Grieger.
Triangle rides for research
May 1 was a beautiful day for riding and research near Raleigh, N.C., as 760 participants brought $109,824 in donations to the eighth Triangle Area Ride for Kids.
The riders left from the White Oak Recreation Area at Jordan Lake State Park for a countryside tour of Chatham, North Chatham, Pittsboro and Cary. The Celebration of Life program after the ride honored brain tumor survivors Cameron, Chase, Cheryl, Forrester, Hannah, Isaiah, Jamilyn, Travis, Sawyer, Shango, and Tami.
“No one should have to watch their child go through this,” said Shango’s mom, Cina. “We are one of the lucky ones because he is still here.”
The group also heard from Dr. Oren Becher, a researcher at the PBTF Institute at Duke University Medical Center. Another special guest was brain tumor survivor Bob Dumas of Bob and the Showgram on G105.
The event’s leading fundraisers were:
• Individual: Roy Crowder (Team Crowder), $6,312
• Club/chapter: Bayer Crop Science, $28,206
• Motorcycle business: Triangle Cycles, $33,327
Thanks to our Ride for Kids sponsors for donating the drawing prizes for Roy Crowder (Honda motorcycle); Roland Cargill (Dunlop tire); Alan Sturts (
AGV helmet); Wink Foster (Tourmaster luggage); and Matthew Christiana (Cardo Scala Rider headset).
Hard work by a multitude of volunteers was essential to the success of this event. This year’s organizers were led by Hope Pickard, Richard and Linda Berner, and Roland Cargill.
