Rolling thunder filled the air in the parking lot at Jack & Jim’s in Duelm last Saturday afternoon as more than 150 motorcycles converged on the restaurant as part of the annual Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride.
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the fund-raising ride, according to Laubach’s brother and event founder Mark Christofferson, a former Twin Cities resident who now makes his home in Arizona. He and his sister were on hand for the event this year, which was composed mainly of riders from the Minneapolis area. The route took them to stops in Isanti and Duelm before a final dinner stop at Rockwoods in Otsego.
The organization is an all-volunteer effort, with all of the operational details and distribution of funds handled by an unpaid board of directors. All of the funds raised by the event are provided directly to individual breast cancer patients, both women and men, who need financial help with the costs of fighting their disease, Christofferson said. The group is a registered non-profit operation, and does not contribute to medical research or other large-organization efforts, but keeps its focus on helping individuals in need.
Ride registration fees and donations average between $50,000 and $60,000 each year, he said, and the organization hopes to break the $500,000 total this year.
For more information or to make a donation to the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride, visit the web site at www.TheBreastCancerRide.org
