Family and Friends,

 

My bicycle is a powerful form of transportation. It is my leisure and it is also utilitarian. It is my vehicle to and from work, it is my weekend activity and exercise and a form of bonding and connecting with family and friends. Most importantly, my bicycle generates a powerful and steady heartbeat within my body and mind, conjuring childhood memories, deeply rooted connections, and feelings of joy and emotion to things much greater than myself; those things that define me as a person, as a brother, and someone to whom family is of the utmost importance.

 

August 2011 marks the 8th time that my parents and I will embark on our 2 day, 192 mile Pan-Mass Challenge bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown. We ride in honor and memory of my brother Jared who passed away on September 27, 2005 after a brave and courageous two and a half year battle with brain and spinal cancer. I am writing to you today to ask you for your kind and generous support as I ride in Jared's memory this coming August. To those of you who have already generously contributed to our efforts, a sincere thank you for your support and love. It means more to me than I could ever tell you.

 

My bicycle symbolizes freedom, my wide open door to exploration, physical and emotional, through the earth's landscape and through my own thoughts and emotions. My bicycle takes me to places physically and spiritually that are sacred and special, places that cannot be described in words; rather, places that must be experienced and captured first hand and when I least expect it.

 

In 2004 and 2005 my father and I rode the PMC while Jared and my mom volunteered, Jared in a wheelchair. 2006 was going to be the year that we all rode together. Instead, I rode with my parents in Jared's honor and memory along with 15 other friends as Team Kermit. Later that year we established the Jared Branfman Sunflowers For Life Fund For Pediatric Brain And Spinal Cancer Research at the Jimmy Fund. All the money raised by Team Kermit goes through the PMC and into this fund. It supports research into the type of disease that Jared had and is helping to make the dream of "curing cancer" a reality. It is a perfect legacy to Jared's dream of helping others.

 

Jared was an artist, an athlete, a brother, a best friend, and an advocate when I needed one. His toughness and bravery was unmatched, and his determination to fight for his life was admirable and dedicated. Jared endured the most rigorous treatments at the Jimmy Fund and Children's Hospital, Boston, all the while maintaining his kindness, positive attitude, strength and determination to succeed. The care and compassion that Jared received there and that my parents and I receive from there to this day is unparalleled and has been and will always be extraordinary. Jared lived every day of his life with kindness and compassion, learning and teaching, and the selfless desire to help others above himself.

 

At 5:30 AM on August 6, 2011 my parents and I and a team of family and friends will embark on our 7th Pan-Mass Challenge ride, from Sturbridge to Provincetown, MA, 2 days and 192 miles, in honor and memory of Jared. We ride both for Jared and for each and everyone's individual connections, honors, and memories of those who have fought and are fighting for their lives against this terrible disease. Please honor Jared, someone you know or who someone who is or has battled this horrible disease by making a donation to the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber Cancer Institute

 

With Love and Kindness,

Adam

 

To learn more about me and my family please see my father Stevens profile and our Team Kermit profile.