- More than 7,700 riders raise $5.6 million
- Top fundraiser: Bill Loecher – $168,791
- Top youth fundraiser – Rosalie Comaratta
- Top team: Team West Herr
- The 2022 Extra Mile Club has 1,646 members
- Return of the full Ride for Roswell back at UB
- Introduction of the Parade of Teams at the Celebration of Hope ceremony
Author: Karen.Cincotti
July Challenges Bring August Prizes
The Ride for Roswell Torch has been lit.
Some riders are already picking up the rewards they’ve earned so far.
We don’t know about you, but it definitely feels like the Summer of the Ride is ON.
Let’s celebrate with some fun, and let’s challenge ourselves to make a huge impact this summer. Over the next few weeks we have some exciting opportunities — check it out!
Ride Starter Kit GiveAway
Whether you are riding with us or riding your own ways, we want to support you. That’s why, we’re giving away a bike as part of our Ride Starter Kit.
What’s the catch? You just have to be registered by July 25. That’s it. Just register for the Summer of the Ride and start fundraising — don’t wait, do it today.
The starter kit includes:
- A hybrid bike
- A Gift Card to Campus Wheelworks for a helmet
- A backpack filled with snacks, goodies and some surprises
- A water bottle
- A limited edition 25th anniversary Ride T-shirt
- Plus your Rider Bib & Kit!
We’ll announce the winner on the week of July 27 and set up a time to deliver your Ride Starter Kit to you! Just in time for you to get your riding in between August 1 – 21.*
Summer of the Ride Challenge
In honor of our 25th anniversary, we’ve come up with a checklist of 25 things to do. Download the check list below and get to work!
Not only will crossing tasks off the list help you reach fundraising superstardom (also known as the Extra Mile Club), and get you ready to log some miles in August, but if you cross off 20 or more tasks, then you will be entered to win some pretty awesome prizes:
The Grand Prize: $1000 donation to your Ride courtesy of West Herr Automotive Group
Our friends from West Herr want to contribute to your fundraiser! They will donate $1,000 to your Ride. You will receive a special delivery from our staff with a big check and any of your fundraising rewards that you haven’t already picked up right to your house. Your photo with the big check will appear on all our social accounts, too.
Backyard BBQ Pack
Enjoy some Sahlen’s hot dogs and ice-cold Coca Cola products in your own back yard! You can pick up the official Ride for Roswell beer from our friends at Big Ditch who will be chipping in some gift cards for you. A big thanks to our sponsors that are putting this great package together! This Sahlen’s cooler full of food, drinks and swag will make for a great post-ride party. We’ll even deliver it right to your front step.
Ride Swag Pack
Ride in style this summer. Our partners at AdPro are making sure you have all the latest Ride for Roswell gear! You’ll even get a Ride for Roswell cooler for your post-ride party! Make sure to check the pockets of your new swag — you never know what our other surprises we might have snuck in there!
And all three of our Summer of the Ride Challenge winners will get a shout out on our TV special that will serve as the finale to our Summer of the Ride. So, make sure you are registered for the Summer of the Ride and start checking things off. You have until the end of July to get 20 or more tasks checked off in order to be entered to win. Submit your completed checklist by emailing it to us or tagging us in a picture of it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.*
Need a little help with some of the items on the checklist? Here’s a cheat sheet for you:
- Complete one of the Ride activity sheets here.
- Watch the Rev for the Ride at-home workout here.
- Our Instagram quizzes can be found in the highlights section of our profile. Take a screenshot of one or all of the quizzes, upload it to your stories and share.
- Update your Facebook profile picture with our custom Rider frame, Volunteer frame, EMC frame, Team Captain frame or Survivor frame.
Make sure you are registered for the Summer of the Ride and keep an eye out for more fundraising challenges! We will email you, so make sure you are checking your inbox.
*Only registered riders will be eligible to win. Limit one entry per registered rider. Winners will be selected by random draw.
Ride By The Numbers
Ever wonder how many miles we've ridden over 25 years?
Or how many volunteers we’ve had? Or the amount of water consumed on Ride Day?
We’re breaking down all this and more for this week’s 25 Tales!
Year 24: 2019
- 7,942 riders raise $5.5 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $155,120
- Top youth fundraiser: Samantha Van Wicklin – $22,755
- Top team: Team West Herr
- The 2019 Extra Mile Club has 1,612 members
- New & Notable: The Ride now offers multiple start times for all routes.
Why Are Donations To The Ride For Roswell So Important?
More than 50,000 patients turn to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center for hope each year. Events like The Ride have a direct impact on the lives of our patients. Curious what your impact is? Keep reading!
Where do the funds go?
Many of the projects that have the potential to find cancer cures and save lives may not have the opportunity to flourish without support from people like you. When you donate to a rider, the funds go to Roswell Park and are managed by the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.
What do they fund?
These funds are critical to Roswell Park scientists’ ability to develop new treatments. They also provide the resources needed to bring the research done in our labs to clinical settings where it can benefit patients the most. The benefits can be felt around the world!
For instance, a Roswell Park-led phase II clinical trial for a brain cancer vaccine is helping patients not only here but at four other cancer centers in the U.S., including the Cleveland Clinic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The study is being funded entirely by donations.
The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation also devotes a portion of donations each year to supporting quality-of-life grants around Roswell Park. From arts and crafts to coffee carts to family support, these grants ensure that Roswell Park patients can focus on their fight while remembering that cancer doesn’t define them.
How are the funds distributed to new research projects?
The funds raised by The Ride For Roswell aren’t handed out freely. Twice a year, Roswell Park faculty compete with each other by submitting research proposals to the Alliance Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee. This objective committee reviews internal proposals and awards grants to projects that show the most promise for finding cures and saving lives.
This past fall, over $1 million dollars — a portion of which came from donations to the 2017 Ride For Roswell — was awarded to 14 of the most promising preliminary cancer research projects at Roswell Park! To learn more about the 14 research projects that recently received funding, click here.
And the impact of donations doesn’t stop there. On average, every dollar donated to Roswell Park leads to an additional $13 in new grant funding!
Year 22: 2017
- 7,401 riders raise $4.7 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $106,700
- Top youth fundraiser: Samantha Van Wicklin – $30,510
- Top team: Team West Herr
- Volunteer award: Jon Olsen
- The 2017 Extra Mile Club 1,251 members
- New & Notable: Pathways Park at the corner of Ellicott and Carlton Streets is dedicated to the volunteers and fundraisers of The Ride. The Extra Mile Club Peloton carries a flame from the hospital to light the new Roswell Ceremonial Torch at UB, the highlight of the Celebration of Hope and the beginning of a new Ride tradition.
Year 21: 2016
- 7,200 riders raise $4.6 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $124,375
- Top youth fundraiser: Samantha Van Wicklin – $29,805
- Top team: Team West Herr
- Volunteer award: Bob Drajem
- Volunteer award: Marit Ogin & The Signs Crew
- The 2016 Extra Mile Club has 1,160 members.
- New & Notable: The 11-story Scott Bieler Clinical Sciences Center opens on the Roswell campus. Ride For Roswell Donors are among 15 leadership gifts of $1 million or more that support the project.
Year 20: 2015
- 8,000 riders raise $4.6 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $91,900
- Top youth fundraiser: Luca Comaratta – $38,175
- Top team: Team West Herr
- Volunteer award: Jeannette Chimino & Karen Mitsopolous
- The 2015 Extra Mile Club has 1,140 members
- New & Notable: The Ride celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new 46-mile Canada route and the attainment of a long-sought goal of “1,000 riders @ $1,000.” Roswell leaders travel to Cuba to sign a historic agreement that paves the way for it to become the first U.S. institution to offer clinical trials of the Cuban-developed lung cancer vaccine, CIMAvax-EGF.
Year 19: 2014
- 8,216 riders raise $4.4 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $84,000
- Top youth fundraiser: Samantha Van Wicklin – $22,409
- Top team: Team West Herr
- Volunteer award: The Citron family
- The 2014 Extra Mile Club has 982 members
- New & Notable: Candace S. Johnson, PhD is named the 15th President and CEO of Roswell Park. Her appointment marks the first time a woman is chosen to serve in the role.
Year 18: 2013
- 7,777 riders raise $4 million
- Top fundraiser: John Conciardo – $82,610
- Top youth fundraiser: A.J. Walczak – $9,692
- Top team: Team West Herr
- Volunteer award: Lettia Milito
- The 2013 Extra Mile Club has 918 members
- New & Notable: The Ride breaks the $4 million mark. The nine volunteer members of The Ride For Roswell Steering Committee are honored at All-Star Night with the Katherine Anne Gioia Inspiration Award.
