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Sunday’s PMC Kids Ride in Franklin marked the 20th anniversary of the event, part of a statewide movement of young cyclists helping fund life-saving cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
What began two decades ago with siblings Olivia Garrity and Jack Marchioni riding through a rainstorm in Medfield and turning that moment into a simple idea that Franklin should have its own PMC Kids Ride has since grown into one of the region’s largest events. Today, the founding spirit has come full circle, with Olivia now a parent herself and still closely connected to the ride she helped inspire.
Across Franklin and beyond, hundreds of children ages 2 to 15 participate each summer, collectively reinforcing a powerful message: you are never too young to make a difference. The impact is substantial. Since the PMC Kids program began in 2005, young riders have raised more than $12 million for Dana-Farber. Across the broader Pan-Mass Challenge community, contributions have surpassed $1.125 billion since 1980.
Jen Lyons, a Franklin teacher and longtime PMC Kids Ride participant, started with PMC 14 years ago. A few years back, she and another elementary school teacher started a friendly competition to see who could recruit more students for the ride. One year, she even recruited 70 students!
According to organizers, the Franklin PMC Kids Ride stands as a living example of community-driven impact and proof that small riders can help drive enormous change.
