Stephen Sacco set to ride in his 30th Pan-Mass Challenge

Fundraising event will be held Aug. 6-7

Published in the July 7, 2016 edition.

WAKEFIELD — Thirty years ago, Wakefield resident Stephen Sacco travelled 192 miles just to prove a point.
When a friend hinted that Sacco could not handle the two-day Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) bike ride, he immediately signed up. That first year Sacco completed the ride on his old 10 speed bike from high school, wearing cutoff jeans and discovered why the ride is called a ‘challenge’.
He finished that ride and raised double the minimum fundraising requirement thus earning the title “Heavy Hitter.”
Today Sacco is training for his 30th consecutive PMC, but he now rides a high tech bike and wears proper cycling gear.
The PMC is an annual, two-day bicycling event to support the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Since its inception in 1980, the Pan-Mass Challenge has donated over $500 million to the Jimmy Fund. On the weekend of Aug. 6 and 7, 6,000 cyclists and 3,500 volunteers will join forces in an effort to raise another $46 million.
The funds raised by the PMC are used for the care of children with cancer and for research dedicated to developing new treatment methods. It is important to note that all of the PMC’s overhead costs are covered by corporate sponsors and rider registration fees so 100 percent of the money you donate to support a rider goes directly to Dana-Farber.
Sacco’s rides are dedicated to the memory of his stepmother, Marcia, and to other family members and friends who have been taken by cancer. He also rides in honor of the growing list of cancer survivors in his life.
In his 29 years as a PMC cyclist, Sacco has reached the Heavy Hitter level every year and is now ranked among the top 10 percent of PMC fundraisers. In that time, his sponsors have donated over $208,000. Sacco’s fundraising goal for 2016 is $17,000, bringing his 30-year total to $225,000. You can see Steve Sacco’s PMC web page and contribute to his ride at www.pmc.org/profile/ss0002.
As for the friend who said it couldn’t be done, he stopped riding years ago!
For more information about the Pan-Mass Challenge visit www.pmc.org.
As the PMC slogan says so perfectly, “Each year we are Closer by the Mile to finding a cure.”