SOUTHWICK, Mass. (WWLP) – Sunday is the 11th annual “Wicked in Pink” Motorcycle Run at the Southwick Recreation Center.
This event will benefit Mercy Medical Center’s Sister Caritas Cancer Center, and all of the money raised on Sunday will go towards the Patient Services Fund at the cancer center.
Anyone is welcome to attend the motorcycle run and organizers encouraged people to wear their best pink outfits. The entry fee was $20 per person in advance. Registration for this event began at 10 a.m.
“It’s a fun event! Most of us are dressed in pink in one kind or another, and we are adding a little fun to a great cause,” expressed John Haymond of the Haymond Law Firm.
Last year the Motorcycle Run had more than 800 motorcyclists come out to support the cancer center. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.
The founder of the Wicked in Pink Motorcycle Run, Bob Kaine Alves is a cancer survivor himself. He told 22News that it’s important for patients to receive the care they need, “A lot of huge corporations raise a lot of money for the research, but here at Wicked in Pink we like to take care of our neighbors and get them some assistance before they start their programs with the cancer center, and start their treatments.”
He says the money helps patients with different types of cancer, and in the past they have helped patients to pay rent, mortgages and co pays.
Amanda Pellegrini from Montgomery says this is her 9th year coming to the Motorcycle Run and supporting this great cause, “We come to support the event and my grandmother was a breast cancer patient, and died from liver cancer. So it’s a big important thing in our family.”
The ride began at the Southwick Recreation Center and ended at the Polish American Club of Agawam in Feeding Hills. After the run, event participants, families, and friends may attend the “after-party” at the Polish American Club which will include food, a cash bar, raffles, vendors, activities, and live entertainment, according to a news release from Mercy Medical Center.
Kiara Smith is a reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since March 2023. Follow Kiara on X @KiaraBSmith1 and view her bio to see more of her work.
