Featured Team: Team Shuno

Why does your team ride in the Ride for Roswell?

When we started as a Team of 8 in 2018, it was a few years after my sister in law underwent treatments for Breast Cancer and my mom started her battle with Lung Cancer. In the summer of 2014 we lost my uncle Ralph to Throat Cancer. In October of 2015, on the same day that we learned of my wife’s Breast Cancer diagnosis, my mom went to the hospital with what would be the spread of her cancer to her brain. Shortly after that, with my mom and my wife dealing with their surgeries and treatments, my dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. In the spring of 2017 my friend Susan Tanner lost her valiant battle with metastatic Breast Cancer. Needless to say, it was a rough few years. With all that had happened we felt the need to do something to not only celebrate those that were still with us and honor those that we lost, but also to do something to help the cause in some way. The Ride For Roswell was the perfect opportunity and we have been riding and growing as a team ever since! This year we will have 15 riders from Buffalo, Olean, Rochester and Vermont!

What does leading a team mean to you?

I feel a tremendous sense of pride to be able to organize our families and do something to help this cause that has affected us in such profound ways.

What is your favorite part about Ride weekend?

There are so many things I love about Ride weekend. At the top of the list is the Celebration of Hope. It’s a chance to slow down from all the prep and remember why we are riding. Although it’s always a very emotional event, it is also incredibly uplifting and empowering.

Featured Team: Andrea’s Army

The Ride for Roswell is very meaningful to my family. We’ve had many experiences with cancer through numerous family members. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Grandchildren, young and old, so many have experienced cancer in one way or another. The team, Andrea’s Army, is named after my sister Andrea who battled Stage 4 Kidney cancer at the young age of 28 years old. She put up an extremely courageous battle against cancer and never gave up. We like to raise money and ride every year in her memory to continue her fight against cancer. Her generous and joyous spirit lives on in us and in this event.

What does leading a team mean to you?

Leading Andrea’s Army is very bittersweet for me. I wish my sister Andrea were by my side to lead her team herself. I feel her energy through the love and support I have received over the past 9 years from friends and family alike.

What is your favorite part about Ride weekend?

Waiting at the start line is always my favorite part. The excitement from the community of people around me is always overwhelming! Then, when I push the pedals and take off, riding through the crowd of supportive strangers cheering and ringing their bells is such a wonderful feeling. I am so happy to be part of this event year after year.

Featured Team: Cycling for Sue

Why does your team ride in the Ride for Roswell?

2019 was Team Cycling for Sue’s first year riding. The previous fall after only five months we lost my wife Sue and my children Kody and Teal’s mom to the horrible disease of lung cancer. My brother Jeff suggested to me that we ride in her memory. It was and still is a very emotional event to participate in as all the memories of her come flooding back. While originally riding for her, hence the name Cycling for Sue, since then we have lost a number of friends and family to some type of cancer and it has opened up our eyes to see how so many are effected by Cancer. While the team is still Cycling for Sue, we ride in memory of all those that we have lost and for those that are fighting to survive.

What does leading a team mean to you?

Leading the Cycling for Sue team gives me comfort that quite possibly the funds we raise might save someone’s life and have someone advert the loss of a loved one. Sue was about helping others. Whether it was with a meal, a friendly call or a shoulder to cry on she was always there for others. I know she is looking down on us and smiling for all that we are doing for others.

               

What is your favorite part about Ride weekend?

My favorite part of the Ride Weekend is that it gets so many people together for such a great cause. While tears flow with the memories the ride also teaches us that so many are helped at Roswell and that it is Roswell that gives someone the chance to ring the bell!

Featured Team: Team Skoden

For Whitney Ann Henry, forming a Ride for Roswell team marked the realization of a goal she set nearly two years ago. Along with her coworker and team co-captain, Josie Raphaelito, Team Skoden came to fruition. Skoden is a slang term used in the Indigenous community to mean “Let’s go then!” or “Let’s get after it.” The name aligns perfectly with their goal to support their department: the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research (CICR) at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Whitney Ann, the Indigenous patient navigation coordinator, and Josie, a research project coordinator, are both passionate about furthering the CICR’s mission of reducing cancer’s impact on Indigenous communities. They are also committed to bringing awareness within the Indigenous community of the resources available through the CICR.

CICR - Center for Indigenous Cancer Research Team

CICR Resources

A few examples include:

  • Colorectal cancer screening education classes
  • The Indigenous and Rural Patient Navigation Program: a free, non-clinical service for cancer care
  • Student internships
  • The Native CIRCLE Library, a virtual hub for culturally appropriate health education materials for Indigenous communities, scholars, researchers and educators
  • The Talking Circle, a podcast that focuses on Indigenous health and wellness
  • The Talking Circle webinar series featuring health and wellness experts and topics that are most important to Indigenous communities. Check for upcoming webinars or catch up on previous topics, including April’s talk featuring David R. Wilson, PhD, Director of Tribal Health Research Office, who discussed his work with building a unified presence between the National Institutes of Health and tribal leaders across the nation.

    Watch the webinars.

About Team Skoden

Whitney Ann and Josie have opted to have the funds they raise for the Ride for Roswell directly benefit the CICR to continue these efforts and advance the critical research and community services that will reduce the cancer burden within Indigenous communities. Cancer is one of the top leading causes of death for Native Americans in Western New York, so the work done through the CICR is critical.

Team Skoden has grown to include 14 riders with a goal to collectively raise $10,000 through the Ride for Roswell. Together, the team looks forward to joining thousands of other riders committed to making a positive impact.

“I’m riding for my whole reservation,” Whitney Ann says. “We always have Indigenous communities in mind, and we do it for them.”

Join Team Skoden or create your own team for the Ride! No team is too big or too small to make a meaningful difference.