Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad campaign raises $38k for local prostate cancer research
This group of healthcare professionals, local prostate cancer survivors, and the volunteers with Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad gathered on Friday, Jul. 23, 2021 at the Cataraqui Arena where Dr. Katrina Gee was presented with a large donation from the local Ride for Dad chapter.
You’ve surely seen them: the men and women, often in orange, sporting their motorcycle vests and zooming around the Kingston region, both in groups, and alone.
And while they may look like a classic motorcycle club, there is something different about these chopper-riding, leather-clad folks. Sure, they’re members of a club, but it’s not only a different type of motorcycle club; it’s a motorcycle club that makes a difference.
Since 2004, the Kingston-Quinte Motorcycle Ride for Dad has raised over $1.5 million for local prostate cancer causes. According to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, more than $650,000 of those funds have been granted to research projects aimed at making a difference in the fight against prostate cancer.
And pandemic be damned, this group did not slow down because of COVID-19. They simply adapted, creating the 2021 Ride for Dad ‘Ride Alone Together.’ This format encourages motorcyclists to register and ride a set route, either by themselves, or with a few friends – all while adhering to current COVID-19 protocols.
That campaign runs until Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, and those interested in participating can find out more on the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad website. Yet even before the 2021 campaign closes, the local Ride for Dad chapter is already making a difference in the world of prostate cancer research once again.
On Friday, Jul. 23, 2021, the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad chapter presented Dr. Katrina Gee, Associate Professor at Queen’s University School of Medicine in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, with a cheque for $38,000, with all funds raised going to further Dr. Gee’s research project, Training the immune system to attack: natural killer cell mediated prostate cancer cell death.
Although not all members of the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad chapter and their supporters are prostate cancer survivors, many of them are, and even more have had their lives touched by the disease. According to Cancer Care Ontario, approximately 8,528 men in Ontario were expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020, making it the most common cancer amongst men in the province.
Two survivors of the cancer, Jack Harry and David John Bailey, were on hand during the cheque presentation, and shared heartfelt appreciation with the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad members for all they do to help advance prostate cancer research.
Prostate cancer survivor Jack Harry (right) speaks to those gathered while fellow prostate cancer survivor David John Baily looks on at a cheque presentation from the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad to local prostate cancer research. 
Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad volunteer Lindin Perry speaks at the presentation alongside Kingston-Quinte 2021 Ride for Dad Chair Marion Perry, and fellow volunteer, Mark King. 
Prostate cancer survivor David John Bailey speaks at the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad cheque presentation on Friday, Jul. 23, 2021. 
John Leverette of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Board of Directors speaks about the importance of prostate cancer research and the local Ride for Dad’s contribution to it.l
For more information on the Kingston-Quinte Ride for Dad, click here. For more information on University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, click here. For more information on Dr. Gee and her research, click here.