Valley Riders Help Chai Lifeline Raise Over $10 Million Dollars

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Valley Riders Help Chai Lifeline Raise Over $10 Million Dollars

Two Valley Village bike riders, Dr. Jan Moore and Moshe Kinsbursky, joined with 575 riders from across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to participate in the tenth annual Bike4Chai August 14th-15th. Bike4Chai is a two-day 180-mile bike ride and the top fundraising event for Chai Lifeline.

Chai Lifeline has grown from a small, community-based summer camp program for children with cancer to one of the preeminent international health support networks supporting seriously ill children, their families, and communities. Chai Lifeline’s programs and services meet the unique emotional, social, and financial needs of families living with serious pediatric illness or loss. From the moment of diagnosis or trauma, Chai Lifeline’s professionals and trained, compassionate volunteers step in to help restore equilibrium and bring joy and hope back into lives devastated by medical crises and illness. They also run Camp Simcha, a fully medically supported camp for these kids, allowing them to experience the joy and freedom of summer camp.

The first day riders traveled 109 miles from Princeton, New Jersey through the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, finishing at the Kalahari Resort. That evening the riders were joined by many of the Camp Simcha kids in a joyous celebration. But that was to be topped the next day when the riders rode the rest of the way to Camp Simcha in Glen Spey, New York. The riders entered camp together; it truly is “The world’s greatest finish line.”

Hundreds of family members and volunteers celebrated the riders’ arrival. Campers presented each rider with their finisher’s medal. The celebration continued with music and dancing with the campers, staff, and riders. “The energy was off the charts! It was incredibly emotional to see the pure joy and simchah in the eyes of the campers as we continued singing and dancing with the kids.”, said Dr. Moore. “All the work we did raising money and training came to an amazing conclusion. Seeing the campers and knowing the challenges they face made all our work training seem trivial.”

Together Moore and Kinbursky raised over $19,000. The overall total raised was $10 million. “We were happy to do our part to help this wonderful organization”, said Kinsbursky. “Hopefully next year Team L.A. will have an even bigger team for Bike4Chai 2020.” Video of the finish line festivities can be seen at www.bike4chai.com.