Take a "Journey of the Heart" for Children with Cancer

On September 26, riders will mount their bikes and pedal off for a weekend in the late-summer beauty of Connecticut and Massachusetts.  But they’re not just sightseeing.  Each rider’s inspiration is a very sick child.  This is the 10th Annual “Journey of the Heart,” a three-day 150-mile bike tour that covers quiet roads and rustic byways.  It’s organized by Friends of Karen, a charity that provides vital, practical and comprehensive support – at no cost -- to families in the New York Tri-State region caring for a child with cancer or another life-threatening illness.

“September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, but cancer has no calendar,” says Judith Factor, Executive Director of Friends of Karen. “We help relieve our families’ everyday needs and concerns throughout their frightening ordeal.  No family should have to face cancer alone.”

Each Journey of the Heart rider commits to collecting $2,500 in sponsorship donations, and rides in honor of a Friends of Karen child.  The child’s battle with their illness can motivate a rider to keep going when the going gets tough. As Vinny Liscio of the Somers Lions Club puts it, “I was tired, I was hurting, but as I went up that hill, I spoke through my heart to the Friends of Karen child I was riding for, and said, ‘This is for you, Hanna, and for all the kids.’ Then I felt as though I had rockets on my feet.”  

Insurance exec Karen Merritt explains it this way: “The joy I feel when I know my efforts are helping local children is unparalleled to anything else I do.”