Natick Raises 302K for Pan-Mass Challenge

Alongside the more than 5,000 riders in the Pan-Mass Challenge in August, 50 Natick residents helped raise $35 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. The Natick riders alone helped to raise $302,646 by riding the 190-mile route across the state, according to a PMC statement.

The amount raised overall is reportedly $2 million more than in 2010, bringing the total Jimmy Fund contributions for its 32 years of participation to $338 million.

“PMC riders are committed to the cause and to this event,” said PMC founder and executive director Billy Starr in a statement. “Their dedication to raising money for cancer research is unparalleled in the fundraising industry.”

Participants from Natick included: Jim Acton, Andrea Adler, Eileen Adler, Donald Benovitz, Eric Berman, Erica Blute, David Boyarsky, Nate Burnes, Robert Calderaro, Dexter Chadsey, Laura Cohen, Linc Cornell, Lois Cornell, Doug Crossley, Jay Dobek, Maggie Duffy, Elise Eckelkamp, Martha Fagan, Billy Feinberg, Bob Gibson, Pam Gibson, Glen Glater, Caroline Goldman, Patrick Hayes, Ed Hayatt, Jon Jacobs, Melissa Jacoby, Darlene Johnson, Joseph Magdalena, Paul Joseph, David Kaplan, Robin Kostin, Jim Liebowitz, Eva Liner, Benjamin Loewenberg, Luiz Mattozo, Melissa McCauley, Richard Morris, Jamie Mucha, Jeff Olsen, Verne Porter, John Portnoy, Paul Sant, Virginia Seery, John Smutko, Karen Snyder, Kara Sullivan, Adrienne Walker, Tom Wolfe, Lawrence Ziegler.

Dana-Farber president Edward J. Benz, Jr. accepted the check. “PMC money is seed money that enables our scientists to conduct the earliest forms of research,” he said. “The money they raise is critical to our work. It enables us to invest in major new patient care and research initiatives that could otherwise go unfunded.”

The 2012 PMC ride is scheduled from Aug. 4 and 5.