Dedicating my 2009 Pan Mass Challenge Ride to Susan Herman and My Mom

2009 has been a tough year for so many. We feel stretched, challenged and anxious but as the saying goes, this too shall pass. We know next year will be better. We WILL survive and thrive as a result. Our futures will be brighter and full of life.

While never giving up hope, cancer patients and their families are often not so lucky. Every day carries the mental and physical burden of a “recession,” every day they and their families feel anxious, stretched and challenged. Although most cancer patients I have met have incredible optimism, they also must try to live and thrive with the painful reality of this life threatening disease.

In the past month I learned that a friend, world shaker and change maker Susan Herman’s incredible life journey will be cut short by pancreatic cancer that is speeding painfully through her body. Susan is an incredible woman, scholar and teacher who has had a profound impact on my life and thousands pf others. Years ago, Susan and her family brought and wove me into the Camp Interlocken bubble and with their support and wisdom I began my career as a bike tour guide for teenagers. This experience in the “bubble” continues to inspire my passion for experiential learning. Her soulful impact has touched so many who are now praying for her daily. In honor of her work, Keene State College's Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies recently announced the establishment of the Susan J. Herman Award for Leadership in Holocaust & Genocide Awareness. Susan has served the College, the Cohen Center and New Hampshire through a lifetime of advocacy, education, curriculum development and leadership training.

Susan is also the remarkable mother of three and grandmother of five and, as a daughter and a mother with young children whose memories of “nana” are fading, I share in the deep sadness they now all feel to have a parent dying from cancer. May 21st would have been my mom’s 76th birthday, we would have gone out to dinner and she would have indulged in cheesecake with a single candle. With the arrival of mother’s day and our birthdays, I remember that May was our month and will always be. She loved the smell of lilacs, the glow of forsythia and simply getting out to take a walk. This time of year is a colorful, yet a sad reminder of mom as we all continue to miss her deeply. The PMC is one way I keep her spirit alive.

As I approach my mom’s fifth year memorial and follow Susan’s cancer journal on her Carebridge Website my heart opens and inspires me to take action in my own small way for our loved ones who have had their lives cut short by cancer. Pan Mass Challlenge riders, volunteers and sponsors are all an expression of Susan’s vision that we take action in small yet significant ways to make the world better rather than be passive observers. While my PMC contribution often feels insignificant and I wish I could do more, I know that change usually happens by taking lots of small steps (or pedal strokes). Collectively we PMCers are making a difference in battle to end cancer, won’t you help by supporting my 2009 ride?

Every year since 1990 I have ridden in the PMC, a 192-mile cancer fundraiser from Sturbridge to Provincetown that to date has raised 145 million dollars making it the largest single contributor to the Jimmy Fund. 100% of all funds raised by PMC riders in 2008 (an extraordinary 35 million in one year!) went directly to the Jimmy Fund making it the leanest and most efficient fundraising operation in the nation today.

While the ride itself is long and tiring, it is a walk in the park compared to the grueling journey cancer patients endure.

I thank you for your support and ask that you PLEASE donate to my 09 PMC ride to Susan, Val and your loved ones who are suffering or were taken too soon by this terrible disease. In the midst of darkness, the PMC is a powerful Ray of Hope for all cancer victims and their families. There are many fundraisers to choose from but few have been going strong for 30 years like the PMC. As you know I am not a fickle participant either! Since 1991 I have raised almost $92,000 and ridden over 4,500 miles for the PMC.

I ask for your support with a minimum pledge of $50 (any amount is welcome!).

Please send your pledge by 8/1/09 to our Arlington, MA office. Checks should be made out to: PMC (See pledge form below). Thanks in advance for your support.

Save paper, save time by donating on line via Egifts:

http://www.pmc.org/egifts/
My gift ID is: LH0006

Sincerely (committed to the PMC)

Lauren Hefferon