May 4, 2025 • 11 mins
We spoke with CEO Jarrett Collins about how the organization raises money for cancer research.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
name is Alison Demersam. My guest today is Jarrett Collins.
He's chief executive officer for the Pan Mass Challenge.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, Good morning Alison.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Please to be here, so tell me what's happening for
this amazing weekend it's taking place August second and third.
Tell me all about the pan Mass Challenge. How did
it come about? What's happening?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Gosh? The pan Mass Challenge, believe it or not, goes
back forty six years. In nineteen eighty, a fellow named
Billy Starr, who had lost his mother early in her
life to breast cancer, decided he wanted to give back,
and as a young man, he wasn't quite sure how
to do that. He wasn't a doctor or scientist trying
(00:43):
to have an ability to help cure cancer, but knew
he knew how to ride a bike, and he had
a lot of friends who rode bikes, and so he
and three dozen of them got together and rode from Springfield, Massachusetts,
all the way out to promise sound of the tip
of Cape Cod raised ten thousand dollars, which they gave
to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the
(01:05):
PMC was born. The Pan Mass Challenge is forty six
this year, and believe it or not, over that time,
we've given accumulative one billion dollars. Wow, to fight cancer
at Dana Farber.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Wow. What a blessing. Oh my goodness. So that weekend,
what will happen? Can you take me through each day?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I'm delighted to So most of our riders check in
on a Friday afternoon. It's always the first weekend of August,
and so on that Friday afternoon, they'll check in whether
they're riding from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, or whether they're riding from Wellesley,
mass And they will pick up their information packet, they'll
pick up their jersey, they'll pick up the tag that
(01:47):
goes on their bike. See old friends. It's often very
much a reunion festivity. And then they will get out
and get themselves ready for the next day after a
good night's sleep. Saturday morning they roll out early. So
we have about five thousand riders who will roll out
on Saturday morning, spread across those two sites, Sturbridge and Wellesley,
(02:10):
and so they all line up in Sturbridge. They're out
the door as early as five point forty five in
the morning, bike lights blinking, and after hearing the national
anthem and a few encouraging words from our founder Billy
starr Off, they go and they'll ride one hundred and
nine miles down to the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne, Massachusetts.
(02:31):
Those who are leaving from Babson leave a little bit later.
That's the wealthy start. They'll write eighty six miles down
to Bourne, Massachusetts, and everyone will meet up at the
campus of the Mass Maritime Academy for a great afternoon
party with food to replenish yourself, you know, showers to
wash off and change the clothes, maybe a cold beer,
(02:51):
and live music. It's just a great, great afternoon experience
right there along Cape Cod Canal. It's really stunning.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Oh wow, sounds so beautiful morning.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Most of us those riders will get up and ride
on to P ten and so they will. Some of
the longest riders will put in about one hundred and
ninety miles over the weekend. But they do it because
they like the challenge. They do it because they love
the cause, which is funny cancer research. And in the
months leading up to the event, and maybe for about
(03:22):
a month afterwards, our riders are out raising money and
they'll collectively raise this year, we believe about seventy six
million dollars for the PMC. Believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
That's amazing. So just to clarify, if I wanted to
do something like this, do I say to my friends
and family, Hey, can you sponsor me? How do they
raise donations?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
That's a great question. We give the riders all the
tools they need to make that a really easy process.
Most people will email their friends or family. Some write
good old fashioned letters, but we have modern integrations with
things like Facebook, fundraisers, Venmo, etc. And most of our
donations come to riders through you know, a credit card
(04:04):
or Apple pay in response to an email they might
have sent two friends or family or co workers. But
we make it really easy to do. And there are
rides and distances I should say, for any ability. So
we have rides as short as twenty five miles on
the weekend, and we have rides as long as ABOT
(04:25):
one hundred and ninety And each one of those rides
has a fundraising minimum at the low end a couple
thousand dollars. At the high end or longer distance rides
at six thousand dollars. Believe it or not, Our average
fundraiser raises over ten thousand dollars per year, so well
above the minimums, and you'd be surprised. You know, cancer, unfortunately, Alison,
(04:46):
is so ubiquitous that knowing that you are out there
trying to do something about it will get you a
tremendous support from people who you may not even have
known had a cancer journey of their own or someone
close to them in their lives.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And I love that people can relate to one another
and connect with one another and say I've been where
you are and I made it through and you can too,
that kind of thing where they all share this collectively.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yeah, the camaraderie for the weekend is really extraordinary. Over
the entire weekend, we have probably about sixty five hundred
riders this year, and the feeling that they have of
honoring someone maybe in their life who's passed or celebrating
overcoming cancer themselves. We have actually ten percent of our
(05:35):
riders and the volunteers who support them who are cancer survivors,
and so I can share you that they've got very
a point and personal reasons that they ride and it's infectious,
you know. For those of us who maybe haven't had
a first hand cancer diagnosis, you pick up on that
vibe and it's really one of the most powerful emotional
(05:55):
experiences that I think anyone will ever have.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Agree, I think it's absolutely beautiful. So people would go
to PMC dot org for more information about this event.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yes, we have all the information there that they need
to register. We love having volunteers too. By the way,
if you don't think you're up for riding a bike
a long distance or even a short one on PMC weekend,
we love our volunteers. Believe it or not. We have
about three thousand, five hundred volunteers on the weekend who
support those sixty five hundred riders, and it's just a
love fest between the two groups because the volunteers are
(06:29):
grateful for the riders raising money and riding, and the
riders couldn't do this without volunteers supporting them. At each
of the water stops that starts to finishes, and along
the way in case you get a flat tire or something,
we always have someone right there with a van that's
going to patch you up and keep it going. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I love that. I just got the visual of all
the different water stops and the people going. You got
this keep going. Thank you know, like wow, what an
amazing inspirational day. If they'd like to make a donation,
if they couldn't participate, they could also do that at
PMC dot org.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
They certainly can. We've got a big red donate button
red on the home page of our website. They can
either donate generally to the PMC, or they can pick
a rider that they'd like. If you don't have to
go very far to find someone who again has has
had their life impacted by cancer, Dana Farber is an
amazing place to fund. It's really, you know, the number
(07:23):
one research institute for cancer in the world. And by
the way, everything that riders raise, every penny goes straight
to Data Farber. Nothing's taken out for overhead at the
Panmaster Lee or anything like that. We have sponsors who
support the operating costs of the PMC. So passed through
is for the eighteenth year in a row, now something
we're very proud of.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Are you looking for more sponsors. I'm assuming you're always
looking for more sponsors.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
We are looking for more sponsors. We love our sponsors.
We have sponsor levels that are you know, co presenting
at the highest level along with M and T Bank
and the Red Sox Foundation, and we have sponsors at
the water site level and everything in between. So yes,
if a sponsor hears this and we'd like to get involved,
they should absolutely reach out to us through PMC dot org.
(08:11):
There will be an email address or a main phone
number where they could reach us.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And would you like to talk about PMC Kids Rides
or PMC unpaved.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I'm happy to We're very excited about these other ways
that people can get involved with the PMC and fight cancer.
PMC Kids Rides are a set of rides that occur
in southern New England that are a place where really
kids can participate right so, as young as three and
as old as about thirteen. Kids who want to make
(08:41):
a difference for people who are suffering from cancer young
or old can get out on their bikes. They very
modest fundraising minimums twenty five dollars. I think it is sorry,
I correct myself. The fundraising minimum for Kids ride is
forty dollars and kids can't come out for a really
fun day at school or community center near them. If
(09:04):
you go to Kidsrides dot Org you will see more
information on that. The nearest one to Hartford, by the way,
is probably in Stuffield, Connecticut, and that's a terrific ride
put on by a family there now for a number
of years. I'm happy to tell you more about pmc
Unpaved as well. This is an event that we started
(09:24):
four years ago. We'll have our fourth edition this fall,
and it's out in the Berkshires. It starts and finishes
in Lenox, Massachusetts, beautiful place especially in autumn, and October
fourth is this year's ride and riders come out, choose
from either a thirty or fifty mile route and they
ride on quiet paved roads, but then about half the
(09:46):
roads are unpaved. It's not super gnarly with roots and
rocks and mountain bikes required, but you'll want a bike
that's got a little bit wider tires, maybe a little
bit of a stronger grip on them for for gravel roads.
And all the money, like everything we do, goes to
Dana Farmer. One hundred percent of what riders raise for
(10:08):
our gravel ride and pmc Unpaved, as I said, is
October fourth. If you just go to unpaved dot org.
You'll see all the information there on that it's a
smaller event and as a result a little bit more intimate,
but we hosted it to camp right alongside a lake
in Lenox, Massachusetts, and people can stay overnight in bunk
houses or car camp or whatever they'd like to do
(10:30):
and live music, great food and beer, etc. It's really
it's a tremendous event and people really love it.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Wow, unbelievable. There are so many amazing things for everyone,
people of all ages. I'm speaking with Jared Collins, chief
executive officer from the Panmass Challenge. Again. If you'd like
to donate, volunteer, participate, you can go to PMC dot org.
Again that PMC Kids Rides is kidsrides dot org and
also for the PMC Unpaved it's unpaid or I.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Want to thank your listeners for caring about this cause. Again,
Unfortunately you cancer is still to comment in our communities
and so we're doing everything we can to fight back
against that. This is a great opportunity whether you want
to ride, volunteer, donate, or as you suggested, Alison, even sponsor.
(11:22):
It's a great opportunity and frankly giving back like this
has never been more fun, so we hope we'll see
people out at one of our different events throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Wonderful. Thank you so much for being here today and
for the amazing work that you're doing.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Thank you Allison,
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
name is Alison Demersam. My guest today is Jarrett Collins.
He's chief executive officer for the Pan Mass Challenge.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, Good morning Alison.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Please to be here, so tell me what's happening for
this amazing weekend it's taking place August second and third.
Tell me all about the pan Mass Challenge. How did
it come about? What's happening?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Gosh? The pan Mass Challenge, believe it or not, goes
back forty six years. In nineteen eighty, a fellow named
Billy Starr, who had lost his mother early in her
life to breast cancer, decided he wanted to give back,
and as a young man, he wasn't quite sure how
to do that. He wasn't a doctor or scientist trying
(00:43):
to have an ability to help cure cancer, but knew
he knew how to ride a bike, and he had
a lot of friends who rode bikes, and so he
and three dozen of them got together and rode from Springfield, Massachusetts,
all the way out to promise sound of the tip
of Cape Cod raised ten thousand dollars, which they gave
to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the
(01:05):
PMC was born. The Pan Mass Challenge is forty six
this year, and believe it or not, over that time,
we've given accumulative one billion dollars. Wow, to fight cancer
at Dana Farber.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Wow. What a blessing. Oh my goodness. So that weekend,
what will happen? Can you take me through each day?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I'm delighted to So most of our riders check in
on a Friday afternoon. It's always the first weekend of August,
and so on that Friday afternoon, they'll check in whether
they're riding from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, or whether they're riding from Wellesley,
mass And they will pick up their information packet, they'll
pick up their jersey, they'll pick up the tag that
(01:47):
goes on their bike. See old friends. It's often very
much a reunion festivity. And then they will get out
and get themselves ready for the next day after a
good night's sleep. Saturday morning they roll out early. So
we have about five thousand riders who will roll out
on Saturday morning, spread across those two sites, Sturbridge and Wellesley,
(02:10):
and so they all line up in Sturbridge. They're out
the door as early as five point forty five in
the morning, bike lights blinking, and after hearing the national
anthem and a few encouraging words from our founder Billy
starr Off, they go and they'll ride one hundred and
nine miles down to the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne, Massachusetts.
(02:31):
Those who are leaving from Babson leave a little bit later.
That's the wealthy start. They'll write eighty six miles down
to Bourne, Massachusetts, and everyone will meet up at the
campus of the Mass Maritime Academy for a great afternoon
party with food to replenish yourself, you know, showers to
wash off and change the clothes, maybe a cold beer,
(02:51):
and live music. It's just a great, great afternoon experience
right there along Cape Cod Canal. It's really stunning.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Oh wow, sounds so beautiful morning.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Most of us those riders will get up and ride
on to P ten and so they will. Some of
the longest riders will put in about one hundred and
ninety miles over the weekend. But they do it because
they like the challenge. They do it because they love
the cause, which is funny cancer research. And in the
months leading up to the event, and maybe for about
(03:22):
a month afterwards, our riders are out raising money and
they'll collectively raise this year, we believe about seventy six
million dollars for the PMC. Believe it or not.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
That's amazing. So just to clarify, if I wanted to
do something like this, do I say to my friends
and family, Hey, can you sponsor me? How do they
raise donations?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
That's a great question. We give the riders all the
tools they need to make that a really easy process.
Most people will email their friends or family. Some write
good old fashioned letters, but we have modern integrations with
things like Facebook, fundraisers, Venmo, etc. And most of our
donations come to riders through you know, a credit card
(04:04):
or Apple pay in response to an email they might
have sent two friends or family or co workers. But
we make it really easy to do. And there are
rides and distances I should say, for any ability. So
we have rides as short as twenty five miles on
the weekend, and we have rides as long as ABOT
(04:25):
one hundred and ninety And each one of those rides
has a fundraising minimum at the low end a couple
thousand dollars. At the high end or longer distance rides
at six thousand dollars. Believe it or not, Our average
fundraiser raises over ten thousand dollars per year, so well
above the minimums, and you'd be surprised. You know, cancer, unfortunately, Alison,
(04:46):
is so ubiquitous that knowing that you are out there
trying to do something about it will get you a
tremendous support from people who you may not even have
known had a cancer journey of their own or someone
close to them in their lives.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And I love that people can relate to one another
and connect with one another and say I've been where
you are and I made it through and you can too,
that kind of thing where they all share this collectively.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Yeah, the camaraderie for the weekend is really extraordinary. Over
the entire weekend, we have probably about sixty five hundred
riders this year, and the feeling that they have of
honoring someone maybe in their life who's passed or celebrating
overcoming cancer themselves. We have actually ten percent of our
(05:35):
riders and the volunteers who support them who are cancer survivors,
and so I can share you that they've got very
a point and personal reasons that they ride and it's infectious,
you know. For those of us who maybe haven't had
a first hand cancer diagnosis, you pick up on that
vibe and it's really one of the most powerful emotional
(05:55):
experiences that I think anyone will ever have.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Agree, I think it's absolutely beautiful. So people would go
to PMC dot org for more information about this event.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Yes, we have all the information there that they need
to register. We love having volunteers too. By the way,
if you don't think you're up for riding a bike
a long distance or even a short one on PMC weekend,
we love our volunteers. Believe it or not. We have
about three thousand, five hundred volunteers on the weekend who
support those sixty five hundred riders, and it's just a
love fest between the two groups because the volunteers are
(06:29):
grateful for the riders raising money and riding, and the
riders couldn't do this without volunteers supporting them. At each
of the water stops that starts to finishes, and along
the way in case you get a flat tire or something,
we always have someone right there with a van that's
going to patch you up and keep it going. Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I love that. I just got the visual of all
the different water stops and the people going. You got
this keep going. Thank you know, like wow, what an
amazing inspirational day. If they'd like to make a donation,
if they couldn't participate, they could also do that at
PMC dot org.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
They certainly can. We've got a big red donate button
red on the home page of our website. They can
either donate generally to the PMC, or they can pick
a rider that they'd like. If you don't have to
go very far to find someone who again has has
had their life impacted by cancer, Dana Farber is an
amazing place to fund. It's really, you know, the number
(07:23):
one research institute for cancer in the world. And by
the way, everything that riders raise, every penny goes straight
to Data Farber. Nothing's taken out for overhead at the
Panmaster Lee or anything like that. We have sponsors who
support the operating costs of the PMC. So passed through
is for the eighteenth year in a row, now something
we're very proud of.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Are you looking for more sponsors. I'm assuming you're always
looking for more sponsors.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
We are looking for more sponsors. We love our sponsors.
We have sponsor levels that are you know, co presenting
at the highest level along with M and T Bank
and the Red Sox Foundation, and we have sponsors at
the water site level and everything in between. So yes,
if a sponsor hears this and we'd like to get involved,
they should absolutely reach out to us through PMC dot org.
(08:11):
There will be an email address or a main phone
number where they could reach us.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
And would you like to talk about PMC Kids Rides
or PMC unpaved.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
I'm happy to We're very excited about these other ways
that people can get involved with the PMC and fight cancer.
PMC Kids Rides are a set of rides that occur
in southern New England that are a place where really
kids can participate right so, as young as three and
as old as about thirteen. Kids who want to make
(08:41):
a difference for people who are suffering from cancer young
or old can get out on their bikes. They very
modest fundraising minimums twenty five dollars. I think it is sorry,
I correct myself. The fundraising minimum for Kids ride is
forty dollars and kids can't come out for a really
fun day at school or community center near them. If
(09:04):
you go to Kidsrides dot Org you will see more
information on that. The nearest one to Hartford, by the way,
is probably in Stuffield, Connecticut, and that's a terrific ride
put on by a family there now for a number
of years. I'm happy to tell you more about pmc
Unpaved as well. This is an event that we started
(09:24):
four years ago. We'll have our fourth edition this fall,
and it's out in the Berkshires. It starts and finishes
in Lenox, Massachusetts, beautiful place especially in autumn, and October
fourth is this year's ride and riders come out, choose
from either a thirty or fifty mile route and they
ride on quiet paved roads, but then about half the
(09:46):
roads are unpaved. It's not super gnarly with roots and
rocks and mountain bikes required, but you'll want a bike
that's got a little bit wider tires, maybe a little
bit of a stronger grip on them for for gravel roads.
And all the money, like everything we do, goes to
Dana Farmer. One hundred percent of what riders raise for
(10:08):
our gravel ride and pmc Unpaved, as I said, is
October fourth. If you just go to unpaved dot org.
You'll see all the information there on that it's a
smaller event and as a result a little bit more intimate,
but we hosted it to camp right alongside a lake
in Lenox, Massachusetts, and people can stay overnight in bunk
houses or car camp or whatever they'd like to do
(10:30):
and live music, great food and beer, etc. It's really
it's a tremendous event and people really love it.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Wow, unbelievable. There are so many amazing things for everyone,
people of all ages. I'm speaking with Jared Collins, chief
executive officer from the Panmass Challenge. Again. If you'd like
to donate, volunteer, participate, you can go to PMC dot org.
Again that PMC Kids Rides is kidsrides dot org and
also for the PMC Unpaved it's unpaid or I.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Want to thank your listeners for caring about this cause. Again,
Unfortunately you cancer is still to comment in our communities
and so we're doing everything we can to fight back
against that. This is a great opportunity whether you want
to ride, volunteer, donate, or as you suggested, Alison, even sponsor.
(11:22):
It's a great opportunity and frankly giving back like this
has never been more fun, so we hope we'll see
people out at one of our different events throughout the year.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Wonderful. Thank you so much for being here today and
for the amazing work that you're doing.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Thank you Allison,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.