PMC Kids Ride Kicks off Sunday

Get your cameras ready. Westwood is about to embark on its own version of the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge - kid style.

For the fourth year in a row, Westwood's annual  will kick off at the this Sunday morning. 

The PMC Kids Ride program sees nearly 6,000 cyclists annually from ages 2 to 15, who will ride between one and 26 miles in a mini-bike-a-thon. The goal is similar to the regular PMC: to raise money for cancer research. More than 5,300 riders from the 34 towns that participated in 2010, raising a total of $832,073; the program to date has raised more than $3 million for the PMC.

The kids ride began in Medfield about a decade ago, and since, any town in the Commonwealth can hold a ride by simply contacting the PMC office.

"That's what I did four years ago," said Denise Singleton, a Westwood mom who decided to start the ride in town in 2008 ago with fellow-resident Krista Hobson. "I thought it would be a great way for kids to show support for other kids who are coping with this (disease)."

Singleton's husband, sister and sister-in-law have battled the disease, and Hobson's son, Brett, was diagnosed with leukemia at 6 months old; he is now healthy at 4, and serves as a Pedal Parter in the event alongside Westwood's , 6, and Ian Maher, 9. 

The PMC provides no budget for the kids ride, leaving each town to set it up on their own with any volunteer they can garner. 

"We set a goal of 200 riders and raising $20,000 (in 2008), which was beyond anything I imagined," Singleton said. "Ten weeks later, we had to close (the ride) down at 400."

What's more, instead of the anticipated $20,000, the event pulled in about $46,000. The second year saw about 500 riders, with 550 attending last year, pulling in a total of about $150,000 so far, Singleton said. 

"The beauty about our ride is that we get a huge number of high school volunteers and that is made possible by the coaches at the schools," Singleton said. 

Students engaged in the Westwood High School's wellness program can have the option of volunteering in the event as an alternative to taking the final exam, Singleton said. But many choose to come back even after that requirement is fulfilled. 

"They come as a way to fulfill this obligation," Singleton said. "They keep coming back. We have so many high school kids and most of the kids' rides (in other towns) are fully run by the adults. It shows the younger kids that ride that when they outgrow the riding part, they can also volunteer."

Cyclists who reached a fundraising goal of $250 or more will be honored as Heavy Hitters during the ride, and will receive a hat, certificate, and a sticker for their bike helmets. 

More than 500 children, aged 3 to 16, are expected to ride on Sunday around the neighborhood that borders the Martha Jones School. More than 250 volunteers will lend a hand at the event, many of them being high school students. The ultimate goal is to raise $60,000 for the PMC.

"I think it's been helpful for these kids to know there's a whole organization and a whole community behind them," Singleton said. "It's been very well supported in the town; it's a lot of work getting the permits and following the process. It's a great day and we have close to 1,000 people there with the riders and others who come. I think it just means a lot to the people who deal with cancer."

This year, a team named Moody's Motivation will ride in honor of Martha Jones librarian Mary Moody, who is recently finished up cancer treatment, Singleton said.

The ride will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Martha Jones School. Sponsors for the event include Stop & Shop and Overstock.com. Contributions to the event can be made payable to the Pan-Mass Challenge. 

For more information, contact pmckidswestwood@aol.com or call 1-800-We-Cycle.