Pan-Mass Challenge Donates Record-Breaking $64 Million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, Bringing Two-Year Fundraising to $114 Million Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

“The PMC community knows ‘we have a lot coming our way’ and has certainly taken the opportunity with this year’s record-breaking gift,” said PMC Founder and Executive Director Billy Starr, a Dana-Farber Trustee. “It is an incredible achievement to not only drastically exceed our fundraising goal, but also to surpass our pre-pandemic fundraising record. The $64 million our community has raised this year – in addition to the $50 million our riders have virtually raised in 2020 – has an unparalleled impact on Dana-Farber’s fight against cancer.”

The PMC donates 100 percent of every dollar raised by riders to support the life-saving mission of Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund, including immediate patient care needs and groundbreaking cancer discoveries. The PMC, which has contributed $831 million to the fight against cancer since 1980, is the nation’s most successful fundraising event for athletic events and the largest individual contributor to Dana-Farber, accounting for more than 55 percent of Jimmy’s annual revenue. Fund.

Thanks in part to PMC funding, Dana-Farber was not forced to suspend clinical trials during the pandemic, ensuring the advancement of critical oncology research. In 2021, for example, Dana-Farber’s research will help gain FDA approval for a new combination of immunotherapy as a first-line treatment for advanced kidney cancer. This success has been made possible in part by PMC support.

“I am in awe of the unwavering commitment of PMC riders, volunteers, sponsors and donors to our shared mission to defy cancer. PMC has once again exceeded expectations and raised a record amount to continue as our largest individual contributor,” said Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, president and CEO of Dana-Farber. “This unparalleled and generous gift, raised during an ongoing pandemic that has presented unique challenges to the cancer community as a whole, will provide integral funding for the innovation taking place with our patient care and the cutting-edge research conducted at Dana-Farber.”

In August, the PMC brought together more than 6,000 riders from 47 states and 11 countries to cycle 211 miles through Massachusetts for the first time since 2019. In 2020, the PMC raised an impressive $50 million through its summer-long Reimagined campaign, keeping participants engaged during the pandemic and raising money, both on and off the bike, to support life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber.

The PMC is presented by the Red Sox Foundation®. For more information or to make a financial contribution to the charity, visit www.pmc.org or call (800) WE-CYCLE. Connect with #PMC2021 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world’s leading centers for cancer research and treatment. Dana-Farber’s mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific research, clinical care, education, community engagement and advocacy. Dana-Farber is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and an education affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

We provide the latest cancer treatments for adults through the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and for children through the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the only hospital in the entire country with a top 5 US News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care.

As a global leader in oncology, Dana-Farber is committed to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discoveries into new treatments for patients locally and around the world, with more than 1,100 clinical trials.

About the Jimmy Fund
Founded in Boston in 1948, the Jimmy Fund consists of community-based fundraising events and other programs that, exclusively and directly, benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s lifesaving mission to provide compassionate patient care and groundbreaking cancer research for children and adults . The Jimmy Fund is an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England. Since 1948, the generosity of millions of people has helped the Jimmy Fund save countless lives and reduce the burden of cancer on patients and families worldwide. Follow the Jimmy Fund on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @TheJimmyFund.

About the Pan-Mass Challenge
The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) is a bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity today than any other athletic fundraising event in the world. The PMC was founded in 1980 by Billy Starr, who remains the event’s executive director, an annual cyclist and fundraiser. The PMC has since raised $831 million through the Jimmy Fund for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The event donates 100 percent of every dollar raised by riders directly to charity and generates 55 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue as Dana-Farber’s largest contributor. The PMC has successfully pooled the support of dedicated cyclists, volunteers, corporate sponsors and individual donors, all of which are essential to the purpose and model of the PMC: maximum efficiency in raising funds and increasing the annual gift. The hope and aspiration of the PMC is to provide the doctors and researchers at Dana-Farber with the necessary resources to discover treatments for all forms of cancer. For more information about the Pan-Mass Challenge, visit www.pmc.org.

SOURCE Pan Mass Challenge