Merrimack Chamber Of Commerce: New England Parkinson's Ride

Press release from the Merrimack Chamber of Commerce:

October 25, 2021

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance are proud to announce that Advantage Insurance has earned a 2021 Make More Happen Award, which recognizes its exceptional volunteerism with the New England Parkinson’s Ride and its commitment to making a positive change within their community. The award includes a $5,000 donation with a chance to double the amount to $10,000 that will directly benefit the New England Parkinson’s Ride, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease (PD) to support those currently living with PD and to help researchers develop better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.

Beginning Wednesday, October 13, the story of Advantage Insurance and the New England Parkinson’s Ride will be featured on the official Make More Happen microsite www.agentgiving.com/advantage-insurance allowing the nonprofit a chance to earn the additional $5,000. If the featured story receives at least 500 votes—shares to social media and comments on their story—the donation will be doubled to $10,000.

The $10,000 donation will go toward helping the New England Parkinson’s Ride reach its 2021 fundraising goal to support research and development of better treatments and a cure for PD.

“The Ride serves hundreds of people with Parkinson's disease and their loved ones by providing an avenue for them to actively do something about a disease that is greatly affecting their lives with a community of people who understand their struggles and share in their triumphs,” said Chris Woods, Owner of Advantage Insurance. “We are thankful from the bottom of our hearts to receive this Make More Happen Award from Liberty Mutual and Safeco that will provide the New England Parkinson’s Ride with much needed funds to continue the impactful work.”

Woods, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 41, co-founded New England Parkinson’s Ride in 2008 alongside his family and has served on the Board of Directors since 2013, becoming the Chairman of the Board in 2018. The first year, Woods and his family recruited 37 cyclists to raise $27,000 and since then, they have grown the Ride into the largest fundraising event in the country for The Michael J. Fox Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving therapies and finding a cure for PD.

To keep the momentum going throughout 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Advantage Insurance and New England Parkinson’s Ride teams shifted the Ride to a virtual platform, recruiting over 1,000 cyclists from every state, plus six other countries, to “Cycle N Sync” together, while apart, raising more than $1,115,000 for PD research last year. On September 11, 2021, over 900 in-person cyclists, 200 virtual cyclists and more than 200 volunteers participated in the 14th annual New England Parkinson’s Ride, bringing the total dollars raised to over $8 million for PD research to date.

“We are so proud of our agents and their commitment to volunteering for important causes in their local communities to raise both funds and awareness,” said Michael Cushman, Safeco Insurance Northeast Region Territory Manager. “The Make More Happen Awards allow our agents to make an even greater impact in the Merrimack-area and beyond and we hope it motivates others to do the same.”

Throughout 2021, Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance will select a total of 34 independent agents nationwide for a Make More Happen Award donating up to $340,000 to the nonprofits they support. Agencies became eligible for the award by submitting an application demonstrating their commitment to a specific nonprofit, along with photos of a project they worked on.

This press release was produced by the Merrimack Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.