Riding for the Cure
BUTLER TWP — More than 300 motorcycles thundered out of Rock Ann Haven restaurant Saturday for Riding for the Cure's seventh annual Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, to raise money to help breast cancer patients in Butler and Armstrong counties.
“We're raising money to help cancer patients in our community,” said Ned Kerr, vice president of the nonprofit Riding for the Cure. “This is all about helping our friends and neighbors. We do this on the last Saturday in July every year. This is our seventh year. In our six years we've raised over $173,000 and today we're going to raise more.”
After the bikes and more than 400 riders and passengers roared out of Rock Ann Haven's parking lot, board member Jim Karam and Louise Lynn, who is in charge of the pig roast at the end of the ride, got to work counting proceeds from registration fee and T-shirt sales before heading to the Longhorn Corral to prepare for the 5 p.m. roast.
“If it weren't for the donations I would be riding,” said Lynn, who joined the organization in 2013 after a ride was held in memory of her mother, Bertha Dunkle, who died from breast cancer in 1999.
“One hundred percent of the funds are given to cancer patients. No administrative fees come out of this money that is donated,” Karam said.
Some of the money is spent on gift cards for grocery stores, gas cards and wigs and a gift baskets given to the Surgery Center at Benbrook every month.
Members of the organization also made Christmas special for a needy cancer patient and her family.
“We brought a whole turkey dinner two years ago ... and gifts,” Karam said.
The organization encounters a lot of cancer patients having a hard time making ends meet.
“One woman thanked us. She said she could buy food for her family and medication that month,” Lynn said.
After adding up the cash they made their way to the pig roast, where Lynn was in charge of the main course and all the fixings.
The rides made stops at the Beer Garden in Petrolia, River's Edge in East Brady, County Line in Fenelton and the Bonfire Restaurant in Leechburg before the ride ended at the Longhorn for the roast.
Butler band Anger the Ant performed, and auctions, raffles and 50/50 drawings were held. The big prize was a butchered-to-order pig and a freezer.
