We are very excited to report that the 2009 Ride for Hope has raised nearly $230,000, and - monies are still coming in!

We are deeply indebted to everyone - our riders and volunteers, our corporate sponsors, and many, many private donors - who have contributed so generously to fighting cancer in the Bahamas.

Since the 2006 inception of the Ride for Hope, 800 cyclists have now raised more than $930,000 collectively. The success of the Ride for Hope has fueled important cancer initiatives in our country.

We helped retire the debt of the Cancer Caring Center in Nassau, a very special facility - worth visiting - where Family Island cancer patients can stay in a supportive and nurturing environment during treatment regimes at Doctors or Princess Margaret Hospitals. In doing so, we removed a huge financial burden on the Cancer Society, allowing the organization's revenues to be directed back to its critical programs.

We funded the completion of the Cancer Society?s headquarters and clinic in Governor?s Harbour, Eleuthera - the location of the Ride for Hope's 85-mile Support Tent each year. From this facility, important public out-reach and screening initiatives, including mammograms for women and prostate exams for men, are conducted to the great benefit of all communities on Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, and Harbour Island.

Our direct financial support to the Cancer Society of the Bahamas in the past three years nears half a million dollars.

And we continue to pledge our support to them. We recently ear-marked an additional $50,000 for the Cancer Society to launch a Family Island Mammogram Screening Project. Initially, this will target high-incident communities in Eleuthera, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, then move to other Family Islands from there. Early screening is a proven method in early diagnosis which leads to dramatically higher survival rates after treatment. Last week, we met with the new leadership of the Cancer Society to discuss programs and plans for the future.

In addition to our support of the Cancer Society, Ride for Hope Bahamas also supports the Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative (BBCI) - an exciting, multi-player program under-taking promising research into the mutations of the BRCA1 gene unique to The Bahamas. Earlier this year we announced a $150,000 grant to the BBCI & their partners at the University of Miami Cancer Center to help fund this critical research. Hopefully this research will be the first step in overcoming the terrible legacy of aggressive and deadly breast cancer, a leading cause of death in Bahamian women.

Sadly, clinical studies have revealed alarming statistics on breast cancer in The Bahamas: 48% of women diagnosed are under the age of 50. Forty four percent present with Stage 3 or Stage 4 of the disease, making their chance of recovery low. Among the women who die, forty three percent are under 50 years old at the time of their death. The Ride for Hope is particularly happy to be able to financially support promising initiatives that are tackling these frightening statistics head-on.

With the success of yet another memorable Ride for Hope behind us, much of our work for 2009 is only just beginning. We are in the midst of a series of meetings with different players in the cancer community, gathering information on programs both underway and in design. Our goal is to offer financial support to programs that best target the priority needs and issues in the fight against cancer. We will continue to let you know of our progress.

Visit http://www.RideForHopeBahamas.com