2018 ABATE District 18 mystery ride for hospice a success

WEST BURLINGTON ? The fundraising total for this year?s ABATE District 18 Mystery Ride for Hospice fundraiser held Saturday, July 21, has been announced. The 14th annual event raised $27,000, beating the total from the last by nearly $5,000. Proceeds from the fundraiser were split between Great River Hospice and Lee County Health Department Hospice.

Randy Hiland, ABATE 18 Activity Coordinator, reported approximately 350 bikes participated in the ride this year. Entry fees, T-shirt sales, live auction and a fundraising meal contributed to the fundraising grand total. Randy voiced his gratitude for the continued support of the Mystery Ride. Hiland expressed a special thank you to all those who help organize the Mystery Ride fundraiser including multiple volunteers from ABATE, Great River Hospice and Lee County Health Department. ABATE, a brotherhood aimed toward education, organizes other fundraising events during the year, with the Mystery Ride being their biggest ride.

Missy Allen, fundraising specialist at Great River Hospice, and Julie Schilling, administrator at the Lee County Health Department, expressed their gratitude to ABATE for their hard work and for their continued support of hospice. Proceeds raised will help to provide care and support to local terminally ill and their families in their home, nursing facilities, and Great River Hospice House. The mission of hospice is to enrich a terminally ill person?s quality of life by alleviating pain and other symptoms. Hospice provides this care by giving physical, emotional and spiritual support to patients and their families. Hospice care may be provided to people of all ages and with any type of life-limiting illnesses.