Yesterday at Fenway Park, we announced the final numbers for PMC 2014 and presented the check to the Jimmy Fund for $41 million -- exceeding our 2014 goal by $1 million.
First of all, I want to thank everyone who has supported me or any other PMC rider this year, enabling us to make such a great contribution to cancer research and treatment. I just cannot say that enough: Thank you. You can see a very nice video online here: http://vimeo.com/111229373. It's about 4 minutes long, but worth watching.
I didn't attend the check presentation, but I did read the press release, and even saw it on the TV news. Each year I'm still impressed by the numbers that get thrown out there: 5,500 cyclists, 3000+ volunteers, more than a million miles pedaled that weekend -- all to raise money to fight cancer.
The problem is big.
The more I read the press releases and news about PMC, one thing hits me: The numbers I keep seeing are just so big. This disease we call cancer is so diverse, pernicious and multi-headed. Every once and a while the magnitude of the whole thing swells up in front of me -- and honestly, I experience a bit of a (for lack of a better phrase) crisis of faith. ("How much more can we do? How much longer? Are we really helping?").
But the answer lies in the small numbers.
Mercifully, when those 'big number worries' begin forming that cloud of self-doubt, it's the tiny number, one, that dissipates it for me every time: One. Of all the thousands of riders and volunteers, each one has his or her own very personal reason for being part of the PMC's mission against cancer. By the same token, each one of you that's supported a PMC rider with your donations has your own very personal reasons for joining in the fight. So even though the numbers in this fight against cancer look so big, I believe that we will find the solution in the one.
Have you ever seen one of those computer-generated photo mosaics? It's one of those things where the main image (usually something singular and immediately-recognizable) is actually composed by piecing together thousands of other uniqe online images as its constituent pixels (or "metapixels")? That is the way I envision the fight against cancer, the PMC's mission, my role in it -- and yours. Every single one of us, taken individually, has been touched by this disease in some way. Each person's passion to fight is fired differently -- but it still burns. And when we unify each of our unique passions, we can achieve things far greater than we might otherwise imagine.
Getting ready for Round 36...
So even though the numbers and the problems before us are big -- I choose to believe that it's a relatively small, simple thing that will ultimately get us to a win against cancer. So, whatever your reasons are for supporting the PMC -- as a sponsor, a rider or a volunteer -- I cannot thank you enough. It's a fight, but when we unite and fight together we will win. This will probably be my last PMC post for 2014, but you will all be hearing from me again next year.
/doug
