PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The wheels are in motion, or at least they will be May 30 at Presque Isle Middle School, as yet another school joins the regional effort to raise money for the County Dialysis Center in Presque Isle.
The Power to the Pedal fundraiser will take place May 29 with the main site for the event at the County Physical Therapy facility on North Street. There participants will ride on stationary bikes in shifts over a 12-hour time period.
Organizers have set a goal of raising $30,000 to purchase two hemodialysis machines that provide life-sustaining treatment for patients at County Dialysis. The machines will complement the construction of an updated facility for the center, which will be located inside the unoccupied section of the former Smythe’s IGA, adjacent to its current location at North Street Healthcare.
Just about a week after a teacher at Fort Kent’s Valley Rivers Middle School announced a coinciding bike-a-thon event, the proceeds of which will also benefit County Dialysis, Brian Cronin, a physical education instructor at PIMS, has stepped up to host a similar activity at his school the day following TAMC’s Power to the Pedal. The local bike-a-thon will be held Saturday, May 30, at the middle school and in the vicinity around the school.
“I first heard about the Power to the Pedal event through my son-in-law, Brian Morrison, who is an athletic trainer at County Physical Therapy and an event coordinator for the unique fundraiser,” said Cronin. “I also spoke about the project with Virginia Joles and Pam Frank, who are associated with TAMC and the County Dialysis Center and are also part of the event coordinating team.”
Once he heard about the event, Cronin felt compelled to help in any way possible, especially since he has personally benefited from the services of County Dialysis. In 1989, Cronin saw a nephrologist/kidney specialist, and doctors found that he was suffering from kidney failure.
“I would visit [County Dialysis] for tests and updates as to the progress of my kidney failure,” said Cronin. “A specialist would visit The County monthly. My levels eventually became worse, and I needed a kidney transplant in 2000.”
Cronin’s oldest brother, Patrick, from Massachusetts, donated the kidney in a selfless act that saved his brother’s life. Cronin had his transplant at New England Medical Center, now Tufts Medical Center. To this day, Cronin visits County Dialysis on a regular basis for updates and tests. Both he and his brother are doing well.
“I decided to plan this event because I was asked if I would be able to help out somehow due to my connection to the County Dialysis Center in the past,” he said. “I felt honored and obligated because of the excellent service I had received at County Dialysis over the years. I wanted to help out any way possible so that others would be able to benefit as I did. I am very blessed and fortunate to have received the service that County Dialysis provides.”
The bike-a-thon will be open to students, parents and staff at PIMS — grades 6-8. Cronin has received the support of TAMC, along with the administration and students at the school. PIMS Principal Anne Blanchard, PIMS Social Worker and Civil Rights Team adviser Allison Reed, and Casey Johnson, who is a sixth-grade core teacher, as well as student council adviser at PIMS, are all playing a crucial role in organizing the event. The next step is to enlist the students’ help to make the fundraiser a success.
Blanchard shared her enthusiasm for this learning experience for students.
“I am so pleased that our students will have an opportunity to participate in this important life-saving project. As middle level educators, we are always looking for ways to connect learning to real life,” she said. “Not only will our students learn about the health and medical components of this initiative, they will be contributing to its success. This is learning through community service — very powerful!”
“Hopefully the students will be very receptive,” said Cronin. “My role here is two-fold. I am assisting in helping with the Power to the Pedal event by bringing my physical education students over to County Physical Therapy to ride the stationary bikes to raise money from 8-11 a.m. on May 29, and I am helping to organize the bike-a-thon for County Dialysis to help raise money for two hemodialysis machines that provide life-sustaining treatment for patients in northern Maine who are living with kidney failure.”
Pamela Frank, RN, manager of County Dialysis, said she is blown away by the outpouring of support from different areas of Aroostook County.
“First Fort Kent, and now Presque Isle,” she said. “It just goes to show how many lives County Dialysis touches across our broad region, and what an important service County Dialysis provides in our rural communities. I’m touched beyond words at the willingness of people to give their time to help us raise these very necessary funds.”
Because County Dialysis is the only treatment center of its kind north of the Bangor region, it helps to keep Aroostook County patients from having to make lengthy trips to receive their dialysis treatments up to three times per week. Without it, many families would endure financial hardships to receive their treatment or, worse, would avoid them altogether.
“It is important to support this event to bring awareness to patients that suffer from kidney failure and the process they have to go through while on dialysis. It is the right thing to do,” said Cronin.
Anyone interested in supporting either of these events can pledge money toward Power to the Pedal by logging onto www.powertothepedal.org, or pledging per mile for the bike-a-thon through PIMS, TAMC, County Dialysis Center, or calling Cronin at 764-4474 for more information.
