The Tribune

RIDE FOR Hope is going back to its roots in Eleuthera for its 10th anniversary charity bike-athon next year, the organisers announced yesterday.

“We’re excited to be returning to Eleuthera,” said co-chairman Susan Larson. “It’s where the Ride began in 2006, and the charm and beauty of the island is an integral part of the spirit of the event.” The event is sheduled for Saturday, February 18, 2017.

Mrs Larson explained that many riders appreciate the hills in Eleuthera as they provide a more challenging course. “The roads are also much quieter, given that there is far less traffic, which is an important factor for all riders. On top of that we felt it appropriate to celebrate our tenth ride in Eleuthera, where it all started. We will be announcing more details on the event in the coming months, including special festivities and surprises to celebrate our tenth anniversary.”

New Providence hosted the last Ride for Hope bike-athon in February 2015. The 2016 event was cancelled due to the effects of Hurricane Joaquin.

Considered one of the most successful fund raising events in the Bahamas, the Ride for Hope has raised close to $3 million since its inception. Organisers said every dollar raised by participants goes to fund programmes created and supported by Ride for Hope to assist Bahamians in the fight against cancer, through education, testing, early-screening, research and direct financial assistance.

“We are blessed with tremendous corporate support that has completely underwritten the cost of the Ride each year,” said Stephen Holowesko, co-chairman. “Our goals for the Ride are simple. We wish to have a safe, quality event, one that inspires the respect and loyalty of our riders and corporate sponsors, and we seek to deploy those funds raised by our riders in the most direct, cost-effective way possible to benefit Bahamians in their fight against cancer. In this respect, the growth of the Ride for Hope from 98 riders in 2006 to over 620 riders is a testament that we continue to achieve our goals. One of our founding sponsors has credited Ride for Hope with ‘doing what we say we’re going to do and following up transparently’. We work hard to ensure the quality of the event and the integrity of the funds raised.”

Ride for Hope has used those funds to assist the Cancer Society in paying off the mortgage incurred building the acclaimed Cancer Care Centre on Collins Avenue, complete their headquarters in Eleuthera and to create the Treatment Assistance Fund, the first of its kind in the country, which supports cancer patients with their treatment costs through financial grants. It has funded the Cancer Society’s nationwide Cancer Education Programme, a grassroots outreach that sends a trained nurse to rural communities throughout the country to educate, raise awareness and teach self-screening and good health choices. In its first three years, this programme has directly connected with an estimated 13,000 students and over 3,000 adults.

The charity has also used funds to create the innovative Family Island Mammogram Screening Initiative (FIMS) programme, which brings at-risk Family Island women to Nassau for mammograms and any needed follow-up. To date, FIMS has helped over 1,100 underserved Bahamian women. Additional funds have been spent through a $150,000 grant to fund genetic testing into the prevalence of the cancer-causing BRCA1 gene mutation in Bahamian women. This study led to the discovery that Bahamian women have the highest known incidence in the world of the gene mutation that causes breast cancer. It has been one of the driving forces for the creation of programmes like FIMS.

To date, 673 Bahamian women have been genetically tested for the BRACA1 gene, as part of the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative programme seeded by the Ride for Hope. The charity event has also contributed $130,000 to the purchase of a digital mammography machine at Princess Margaret Hospital.