This has been a difficult choice to make. We have tremendous admiration for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, its history, purpose, and the money they are able to raise year after year for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. However we are standing off our bicycles this year in our own silent protest of the administration of the PMC and some of the changes they have made recently.
Most notably, the PMC has raised the minimum fundraising to $4,300 per rider (on top of $170 registration fees). For both of us to ride, we would need to raise nearly $9,000.00. That amount is certainly doable, but we are not confident that it is a realistic goal for us year after year. The minimum fundraising requirements have been raised repeatedly over the past ten years to the point where it has become a deterrent to the cause for which the PMC was founded.
This hike in fundraising requirements have distinct benefits to the PMC. It limits number of bikers out on the routes of the PMC, which would helpfully ensure a safer ride. It reduces the amount of people they need to provide food and housing to as well as transportation of riders and bikes to start lines. In essence, it gets the PMC the most bang for the buck. But it comes at a price.
While there are some who will always be able to meet and exceed their fundraising requirements, we do believe for the average rider this tendency to continually hike requirements will discourage loyal long-term participants. We are lucky to have such strong supporters, such as yourself, but with each year that the minimum is raised, we need to either (a) find more friends and family or (b) ask our supporters to dig even deeper into their pockets than they have in the past. In consideration of these difficult economic times, it does not feel prudent to ask for more from those who have always stood by us. We understand that cancer does not recognize the economy, just as it does not have age requirements or prefer one socio-economic strata over another; however we are starting to question the tactics adopted by Mr. Starr and the PMC.
This increase in required fundraising will have some detrimental repercussions. There will be a higher turn-over of riders which means that those riding will:
1. not inherently have experience in fundraising for the PMC
2. not have experience with the routes and physical strain of the event itself. This will increase opportunities for dangerous situations on the road.
No matter if a registered rider actually completes (or participates in) the ride or is able to raise the required funds, the PMC still obtains the full amount promised. Upon registration, a rider provides his credit card information to the PMC which will immediately charge any outstanding balance after the fundraising deadline has been met. Can you afford to make a $4,000 charitable contribution, year after year, until the next time Mr. Starr decides to increase it even more? We can't.
Mr. Starr has forgotten the purpose of the origin of the PMC of thirty years ago: to raise money AND awareness in the fight against cancer. He has perfected the former but we wonder if he is really being most effective in the latter at this point. Riding in the PMC should not be an exclusionary club that only the wealthy can participate.
So we won't be riding the PMC this year but we will still be making a financial contribution directly to the Jimmy Fund. We recognize that you have been a faithful supporter through these years by supporting our rides. For that we sincerely thank you and pray that we can count on your continued support in the future. For this year, if you would still like to make a contribution to help in this fight against cancer, please follow the link below.
http://www.jimmyfund.org/gif/gift.asp
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