Team Kenni

Featured team:

team kenni

Why do you participate in the Ride?

My mom and I started Team Kenni in 2016, shortly after my dad (Kenni Graber) was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. We wanted to show him that we were his cheerleaders, and just to do something positive during what was otherwise the most difficult, negative situation imaginable.  Even though my father was put into Hospice care before Ride Day, he was determined to survive until after the Ride, and to see us all in our jerseys. Since then, Team Kenni has grown in size and in impact. We have more riders, raise more funds, and ride longer distances. The event remains a way to honor my dad and celebrate his life… but it has become so much more than that to us. Roswell Park has become an important community that we passionately identify with and are uplifted by. The Ride, over the years, has been a way for us to process our grief, and to mark our ability to overcome the tragedy of my father’s death.

Team Kenni group photo
Team Kenni group photo
Team Kenni group photo

What does leading a team mean to you?

I once read somewhere that when a person suffers from cancer, everyone who loves that person suffers, too. I hope that I will never personally experience what my father did – I will never intimately know his suffering. However, being the primary caretaker of a terminally ill person is a suffering, in and of itself. The Ride for Roswell has become so important to my family and I for so many reasons. First of all, it allows us a positive space to celebrate my dad’s life. Secondly, it allows us to give back in a meaningful way. But – perhaps most importantly – it allows us to celebrate ourselves, and the fact that we made it through an extremely traumatic event, but came out better people who are more passionately invested in our community. When considering all of this, I am so humbled by my amazing friends and family members who sign up, year after year, to support my mother and I in this experience.

What is your favorite part about Ride weekend?

I always have two favorite parts about Ride Weekend: The Celebration of Hope and our personal Team Kenni After Party. The Celebration of Hope really allows riders to see the impact that they’re making. It humanizes the fundraising process and shows that real people – in our own backyard – are seeing the immediate benefit of what we’re working for. Our After Party, on the other hand, honors our riders and donors. It allows us to express gratitude for them. We’re not only thankful that they are donating their time and money to a cause we care about – we’re also thankful that they’re showing up to emotionally support us in a way that has helped us heal and move on.

Team Kenni poses for photo
Team Kenni group photo

Christina Porcari

Featured Rider:

Christina Porcari

Why do you participate in the Ride?

I have a team every year in memory of my Dad, who passed away from Pancreatic Cancer on Christmas Day, 2012. My Dad was treated at Roswell Park for several months, and while they were the hardest months for our family, we felt so lucky to have Roswell in our backyard. The nurses treated us like family and took such amazing care of my Dad.

Christina Porcari with dad
Christina Porcari's father

My memories of Roswell are very mixed – we lost my Dad to a very aggressive cancer so our visits there were often filled with tears and pain.

But it was also a place for hope – recovery after an intensive surgery, treatments to give him a fighting chance and extra days with his family. Hope for other families around us.

My Dad may not be with us today but I will carry on his memory every day, and continue to support Roswell in hopes other families will get to bring their loved ones home.

What is your favorite part about Ride weekend?

The volunteers! Riding along the routes with hundreds of volunteers to cheer you on is incredible. Make sure to stop and ask them why they volunteer – they all have their own story and it is a beautiful culmination of different paths leading us to support one cause.

Christina Porcari

How to track your mileage for #RFR21

Whether you’re riding your own way this summer or racking up some extra miles before coming out to an in-person ride, we have an exciting, new way for you to track your progress.

There is now an option to submit your mileage through your online fundraising dashboard.  It is a simple and easy way to keep track of all the good you’re doing this summer. Follow the below steps on a computer or mobile device to start tracking:

1. Login to your Fundraising Dashboard

2. Click on the Submit Mileage icon

Submit MIleage icon
Welcome to your fundraising dashboard screenshot

3. A pop up will appear. Click on Profile and then Event Options.

Mileage update screenshot

4. Enter how many miles you’ve ridden so far. Add to it every time you ride to track your total. You will need to do the math to figure out your new total. When you enter the new total, click Save and then you will see a note that your mileage has been updated.

Mileage update: Submit your total cumulative mileage

And voila! Your mileage has been tracked. Every week, we will be tracking the total miles all our riders have ridden on our homepage, so make sure you keep yours up to date. Happy riding!