Framingham High School Students Take Charge of the Framingham PMC Kids Ride

On Sunday, May 18, approximately 50 National Honor Society students from Framingham High School will take charge by volunteering for the Framingham Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) Kids Ride, one of 37 mini bike-a-thons that involve children in the PMC mission to help fight cancer.  They will assist with everything from fundraising and planning the post-event celebration to designing signage, rider recruitment and registration as well as rider safety along the route. Alex Sheldon, 17, and Katie Cassidy, 17, both Framingham High School seniors on the honor roll, are co-coordinators of the event. 

The Framingham PMC Kids Ride was founded in 2013 by Framingham High School alum Michael Berkson in honor of his father, Craig, a pancreatic cancer survivor and six-time PMC cyclist. As a senior member of the National Honor Society, he was instrumental in helping to recruit his classmates as volunteers, making the Framingham PMC Kids Ride one of the group’s main annual community service projects. This year, the now freshman at Columbia University plans to return to the ride as a volunteer with his father by his side. 

“It seems like everyone in town has been touched by cancer in some way,” says Sheldon. “I remember when Michael stood in front of us and shared his father’s cancer story. Our goal is to spread cancer awareness throughout our community so that people understand the need to raise money to help fund new research and treatments that will hopefully one day lead to a cure.”

As new leaders of the event, Sheldon and Cassidy are responsible for coordinating volunteer committees, promoting the mini bike-a-thon in and around town, securing permits and organizing the logistics of the ride. The Framingham PMC Kids Ride expects 50 to 100 children, ages 3 to 12, to ride quarter-mile loops around Brophy Elementary School or one-mile loops down Flanagan Drive in Framingham. There will be a party after the ride, which will include complementary refreshments, a visit from the local fire department, an arts and crafts station, backyard games, and a raffle. The event hopes to raise $10,000.  

The PMC Kids Rides are spokes in the PMC wheel, joining the more than 5,800 adult PMC cyclists in their mission to fund adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. The PMC is a two-day, 190-mile bike-a-thon held the first weekend of every August. Since its inception in 1998, the PMC Kids Rides program has raised more than $5.5 million.

“The National Honor Society students at Framingham High School play a crucial role in helping not only with the planning and fluidity of the event itself, but also with helping to bring to life the fun-loving spirit of generosity in our community,” says Sheldon. “The Framingham PMC Kids Ride is a feel-good family-oriented event that allows children to feel like they are making a difference.” 

In its second year, the Framingham PMC Kids Ride is looking to grow and recruit new young cyclists. The event will be held on Sunday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon, at Brophy Elementary School. There is a $10 registration fee and a $25 fundraising minimum. For more information or to register to ride or volunteer, email Alex Sheldon at asheldon14@comcast.net.