Make a donation to a great cause and you could win one of four incredible boxes of cigars. Keep reading to find out how…
The Ride for Kids is a fundraising organization that raises money specifically for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States which is a nonprofit organization devoted to research and treatment in the area of pediatric brain tumors. The Ride for Kids organization is made up of motorcycle enthusiasts from all over the US. They are headquartered in Asheville, NC. They hold ride events all over the country throughout the year to raise money and awareness for this disease. There are a lot of children in this country that are diagnosed with brain tumors every year. No one yet knows exactly what causes these tumors in otherwise healthy kids. I am sure you can imagine though what it must be like for a parent to hear a diagnosis like that for their little child. It puts a huge emotional as well as financial burden on the families. The Ride for Kids and the Pediatric brain Tumor Foundation of the US (PBTUS) are devoted to helping these families and these children. The PBTFUS uses the money raised to do research for treatment and prevention of pediatric brain tumors as well as provide families coping with this disease with support.
I first got involved with the Ride for Kids in 2004. My wife was pregnant with our first child and with the prospect of being a first time dad I found myself thinking about things that previously had never crossed my mind. They say having a child will change your life. Truer words may never have been spoken. I have been riding motorcycles for years and in 2004 I learned about a charity ride that was starting in Cary, NC and riding on down to a small town called Sanford. It was the first year the Ride for kids had an event in my area. What caught my attention at that time was that the charity benefited sick children. I looked into it some more and learned all about the Ride for Kids and the PBTFUS. For the first time I was able to put myself in the shoes of a parent and I thought what it might be like to learn that my child was seriously ill. I hadn’t even met my daughter at this point as she was still six plus months away from being born, but the thought scared me more than a little. I felt compelled to be involved and to help out. That is the story of how I got involved with this charity. I have since been blessed with two very happy and healthy children. Ella is 3 now and my son Jake will be one year old in April. I have been participating in the ride for kids every year since 2004 and in that 4 year span have raised over $2600.00, and $1400 of that was just last year. My best year to date. I hope to improve on that number this year and with your help I will raise $3000.00 for this year’s Triangle Area Ride for Kids.
Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/matthew2008 and make a donation. For every $10 you donate you name will be entered once in the drawing for one of four boxes of cigars. A $50 donation will get your name entered in the drawing seven times. So for example, a $20 donation gets your name in the hat twice, a $50 donation puts your name in 7 times, $70 would get you nine, $100 gets your name in fourteen times… You get the idea. The only limit is what you can afford. Here are the cigars you can win and the very generous companies which have provided these great prizes for such a wonderful cause.
1 box of Fuente Opus X Petit Lanceros from CigarsDirect.com
1 Box of Hoyo de Monterey Dark Sumatra Noches from Tobacconists of Cary, NC
1 Box of Perdomo Habano Corojo Robustos from Tabacalera Perdomo
1 Box of Camacho Corojo Monarcas from Camacho Cigars
(Click to Enlarge)
All donations must be made by April 25th to be included in the drawing. The Winners will be announced on May 5th after the event. The ride takes place on Sunday May 4th.
**IMPORTANT**
When you leave your donation on the First Giving site please be sure to fill out the Display Name, and leave your email address or phone number in the “Personal Message” section. This is how I will be able to contact you if you win one of the boxes of cigars. I have setup the FirstGiving site to NOT display the “Personal Message” field so that information will not be publicly displayed on the site. If you fail to leave some kind of contact info in the “Personal Message” field your name will not be able to be entered into the drawing, but your donation will still be very much appreciated. Also be aware, each person is only eligible to win one box. So if your name is drawn once, it will not be eligible to be drawn again. Any questions can be sent to mattridesforkids at gmail dot com. I’ll do my best to answer any emails I receive.
All the donations go to FirstGiving which then distributes the funds to The Ride for Kids so I never handle any of the money. It all goes straight to the charity via FirstGiving. Although donations are welcome from any and everyone, this drawing is open to US residents only. I will not be able to ship cigars internationally. Also you must be 18 years of age or older to qualify for the drawing. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the US is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit charity and all donations are tax deductible.
Thank you so much to everyone who donates. The money raised will have a profound impact on the lives of many sick children. And thank you to the very generous companies that donated the cigars for the drawing. Tobacconists of Cary in Cary, North Carolina, CigarsDirect.com, Tabacalera Perdomo, and Camacho Cigars. These are all great companies that deserve your patronage.
