Photo © 2017 Rich Cruse
For the fourth year, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) employees again rode their bikes across the country as part of the Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer Ride (C2C4Cancer) to raise money for cancer. The money raised through this 21-day fundraising initiative goes toward the Stand Up to Cancer organization, which was established in 2008 by people in the film and media industries to raise money for cancer research.
The 93 BMS Oncology team members formed 7 relay groups to cover the 2,800 miles between Oregon and New Jersey on September 6-26, 2017. In addition, 78 BMS employees in Europe rode through several European countries for a total of 3,600 kilometers (2,236 miles). The funds raised by these employees will go to a specific cancer charity in Europe.
One cancer survivor, Bonni Norwood of Spring Lake, MI, had not ridden a bike for 45 years but decided to ride this year from Kansas City, MO, to Indianapolis, IN: “While training to ride 75 miles per day is difficult for me, my struggles pale in comparison to those faced by people fighting cancer,” Ms. Norwood said in a press release from BMS.
According to the press release, BMS will match the funds raised during the C2C4Cancer ride up to $500,000. Last year’s ride raised more than $1 million for this cause.