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