2017: Record-Breaking

This was a record-breaking year for our fundraising team and for the Pan Mass Challenge. This year, our 73 registered riders (a team record) and a few virtual riders raised a grand total of $653,106.78! That’s an average of $8,947 per registered rider!

We are very proud to share that our group’s 12-year team Total Fundraising is $3,437,907! We are all overwhelmed by the support and passion of our friends and family, colleagues and acquaintances who have donated time after time to this cause.

We are happy to be a gear in the cog that is the PMC! A very big cog in the the fight against cancer… take a look at how the PMC announced this year’s record gift to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/242594661

2017 PMC Gift Reveal from Bill A on Vimeo.

Marking a Major Team Milestone

A great way to mark the 1st day of summer! As we push ahead with training and fundraising for #PanMass2017, Team Forza-G is proud to announce that our motley crew of riders has now passed the $3 Million mark in total team fundraising!!! This year looks to be our largest yet in the fight against cancer, with 70 riders looking to raise over $550,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Please consider supporting your favorite rider or our team today! 

 

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Our amazing Living Proof rider, Betsy Bowman, is representing the FORZA-G family on TV! Check the ad out below and read her guest blog on the PMC site here.

 

Our Pedal Partner Goes To Fort Benning

Our team’s PMC Pedal Partner 12-year old Mason, who has battled a brain tumor since 15 months old, recently got to spend a day with cavalry soldiers at Fort Benning. Quite an amazing experience for this amazing young man.

Read more here | Watch the video

Thank You for a Great 2015!

On behalf of all the members of Team Forza-G, thank you for your support in 2015! We raised $409,918.35 this year as part of the record-setting $45 million donation made by the PMC to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  While we are incredibly proud of this amount and extremely humbled by the donations of so many, we know that our work is not done and that we will be on the road again in 2016 to help push us closer to a cure. As we like to say in PMC-land, closer by the mile.

Best wishes for a happy 2016 to you and yours!

 

 

 

Everyone Has A Reason

Members of Team Forza-G talk about the origins of the team and why they ride the Pan Mass Challenge. Video courtesy of Last Minute Productions.

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The 2015 ride is 2 weeks away – please help us achieve our fundraising goal by making a donation at http://www.pmc.org/tf0086.

Incredible Team Milestone Reached: $2 million

PMC Team Forza-G…10 Years, $2 Million – and so much more.

A little after 10:30 this morning a donation hit our PMC Team account that put our 10-year team fundraising total over $2 million. In the flurry of activity of tracking fundraising updates and waiting/watching for the number to tick past this major milestone, it took a few minutes to figure out who was behind this very special donation. I am very happy to announce that our own Forza-G teammate, Suzanne Merritt, put us over the top!

In cycling terms, the final, frantic push to the $2 million mark felt like an all out sprint to the finish – and it is only fitting that Suzanne led all of us across that line – she is inspiration, motivation and Living Proof.

I’m happy to break out the virtual confetti and balloons to mark this milestone, but I’m REALLY looking forward to celebrating with Suzanne and all of my teammates the best way we know how – riding together on PMC Weekend!

Cheers Suzanne and thank you for being you!

The Captain – Matt

Forza-G member brews official PMC Beer

Harpoon 192 – The Official Beer of the PMC

Team Forza-G’s own Jaime Schier, whose very cool day job is ‎Director of Quality at Harpoon Brewery, just happens to be the brewer of the official beer of the Pan Mass Challenge, Harpoon 192. This beer is an American interpretation of the traditional Kölsch style.

Extensive research done by Forza-G has proven that without a doubt, Harpoon 192 is the perfect post-ride beer – a medium-bodied golden ale with an assertive hop character and just a hint of citrus. YUM!

For every bottle and pint of Harpoon 192 sold, Harpoon Helps will make a $1 donation directly to the PMC which donates 100 percent of every rider raised dollar to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund in Boston.  Harpoon 192 is available on draft at Harpoon’s breweries in Boston, MA and Windsor, VT and will be available for purchase in 22 oz. bottles at select retailers throughout the state of Massachusetts. Harpoon 192 is a limited batch beer, available while supplies last. Use the Harpoon Beer Finder to find Harpoon 192 at select retailers.

Love Beer and help cure cancer, all at the same time. Great job, Jaime! Cheers!

Jaime (left) talks brewing with Billy Starr, PMC Founder and Executive Director

Photo Credit: Harpoon Brewery

Source: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/blog/385008/harpoon-192-the-official-beer-of-the-pan-mass-challenge 

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tandem = life

In the midst of all the snow, one of our Living Proof riders reflects on riding the 2014 Pan Mass Challenge on a tandem with long-time Forza-G team member Jaime Schier.

spaghetti for breakfast

Turns out, I like to be in charge.  Six younger siblings, 18 nieces and nephews, fifteen years working in schools …. yes.  I like to be in charge.  So when it became clear that my body wasn’t quite ready to ride 192 miles of the Pan Mass Challenge on my own (and still keep up with the cool kids) I had to do something shocking.  I had to let someone else take over.

As soon as my first lesson on the tandem with Captain Jaime began, I knew this adventure would challenge me in interesting ways.  The rider on the back of a tandem is called the “stoker,” because your ONLY job is to pedal.  And be charming and witty, but I’ll get to that part later.  There’s no steering.  No braking.  No shifting gears.  No looking both ways before crossing an intersection.  The stoker doesn’t even unclip from the pedals…

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Forza-G Returns for 10th Year

The 2015 Pan Mass Challenge marks the 10th year of Forza-G being an “official” PMC team. The team was named “Forza-G” in memory of a friend of Matt Dillis, our team founder and captain. Joe Giovinazzo, who lost his battle with T-Cell Lymphoma in 2000. Joe’s friends always called him “Joe G”. When it came time to put a name to the Team, Matt came up with “G-Force” and went with the Italian Forza-G in honor of Joe’s Italian heritage.

Each Forza-G rider comes to the PMC with our own very personal reasons for riding – the loss of a family member or a friend, a personal struggle with cancer, the hope that we can make a difference. While it may be one incident or one person in our lives that pushes us to join the cause, the unfortunate truth is that we are regularly hit with more reasons to ride. The very good and positive news is that we are seeing real progress in the search for cures. It is especially touching to hear that a diagnosis that would have given little hope of survival even five or ten years ago may now be successfully treated through work done at the Dana-Farber, with funds raised by PMC riders-funds donated by individuals like you.

Learn more about where your donation gets put to use at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

This year’s Forza-G squad of riders is now 50 strong and growing. Add to that the dozens of friends and family members and hundreds of individual supporters who give their time, money and positive energy and we’re talking about a very strong force.

Here’s how you can get involved:

1. Donate to our Forza-G team account
2. You can also donate to an individual rider by using their e-Gift ID number. A list of all Forza-G riders is on our PMC Profile page.
3. Ride with us! Please email teamforzag@gmail.com.