New England Walkers for Knockers
What an unbelievable Day! With over 200 bikes in attendance and $8,013 raised - the First Annual Ride for the cure was a huge success!
Thanks to mother nature, the sun was shining bright and there was not a cloud in the sky! The wind was a bit harsh and the temps were brisk, but that didnt' stop anyone from joining in on the beautiful escorted foliage ride along the back roads of New Hampshire. Thank you to all the police officers who escorted the ride and also the road captains and road guards who got us to our desination in a safe and timely manner.
We were joined by Portsmouth Firefighters who proudly displayed one of their fire trucks at Seacoast Harley-Davidson in honor of Sarah Fox; who is one of the individuals who will benefit from this fundraiser.
Bikes were decorated with pink bandanas, bras and one very special one remembering a loved one that had recently passed from breast cancer. The riders and passengers were also wearing pink in support of the cause! There would be no doubt this was a breast cancer ride.
The energy on the morning of the ride was amazing! Everyone was so excited to be part of this event. The riders started rolling in as early as 8am and everyone enjoyed coffee and donuts as they talked amongst the other ride particpants. We had participants who drove from as far as Pennsylvania and we were also joined by a few people from China!
Brenda Fox joined us as the grand marshal of our ride. She walked the crowd all morning and met many of the ride participants and took many pictures with everyone. She also had the opportunity to get to know many of them while sharing stories about her life experiences, their life experiences and with some, their experiences with breast cancer.
As we rolled into Manchester we were honored to be able to parade down Elm Street. Thanks to Mayor Gatsas for welcoming the ride at Granite Street and alsofor making an appearance at Jillian's.
The Sexy Skins Fashion show was a big hit! Brenda Fox was the MC of the show. Thank you to the Sexy Skins Models and everyone who was involved in the fashion show. Thanks also to Sexy Skins and Bizznatch Bling for the beautiful top they donated to the event which raised over $300.00.
There were many other raffle itmes donated which raised over $800.00. NE-W4K team mate Lori Elwell did a fabulous job showering the crowd with tons of tshirts and other give aways and had fun doing it!
We also had a few vendors and Clubs at the event, Wicked Paintworks, Cabin Fever and the East Coast Biker Chicks. Thanks also to the Elliot Breast Center of Manchester for attending the event and speaking with our participants about breast cancer.
We met so many wonderful people and everyone exrpressed they had a great time at the event. There were many stories shared about people who had been personally touched by breast cancer and they were very grateful to everyone who was involved in putting this event on.
With this being the first Ride for the Cure for NE-W4K, we had no idea how many people to expect. We were elated to see over 200 bikes attend the ride. As with any event, there are growing pains and there is always room for improvement. Overall, we felt the event was a very positive experience for everyone who was involved.
Thank you to our event sponsors, Robert Burns of Baystate Financial Services, Exeter NH, Walls Ford, Salisbury , MA and IRA Toyota of Manchester. Also thanks to Seacoast Harley-Davidson for hosting our event and to the employees for catering to the rde participants. Thanks also to Jillian's Billiards and it's employees for throwing a great after party bash. Also Thank you to Sweetshot photography, Robert Daniels, Brian Lumb Photography, Radioedit, DJ Adam Furious and Sexy Skins for making the After Ride Bash, FUN, FUN, FUN!
Our sincerest thanks to everyone that helped with this event. Everyone that took part in this event donated their time and services 100%. And, thanks to that and to our sponsors, 100% of the proceeds raised from this event will be donated! This event was a total team effort and would not have been possible without the help and supupport of everyone involved.
NE-W4K has three goals when organizing our events; 1.) raise money, 2.) raise awareness, 3.) get people involved in helping others. We are thrilled to say we reached each of these goals with this event!
Thank you all for Making A Difference.
Brenda Smith
New England Walkers for Knockers
http://ne-w4k.org/
