BUSM Students Raise $16K at Rodman Ride for Kids

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) students took to the road on Sept. 22 to participate in the 28th annual Rodman Ride for Kids. The Rodman Ride is a matching gift charity raising funds for youth-focused social service organizations in Massachusetts. This year’s BUSM team was composed of 35 medical students representing all four class years. The team raised over $16K, which will be used to support multiple BUSM Pediatric programs.

“It’s important for BUSM students to participate in the Rodman Ride to build community with the patients we serve and to advocate for their well-being,”  said Shelby Scola, a second-year student and team captain. “If you can start doing those things as a medical student, you are setting yourself up to continue doing them as a doctor.”

Many participants reflect similar sentiments on their individual fundraising pages. They acknowledge the complex care needs of the Boston Medical Center (BMC) patient population that often go beyond the hospital or clinic. The Rodman Ride gives students an opportunity to raise funds for student-organized pediatric service learning groups that are an integral part of the Pediatric department’s efforts to provide comprehensive care for BMC’s most vulnerable patients —  children.

In addition to raising funds for a great cause, the Rodman Ride gives medical students a chance to step outside of the classroom to enjoy time with classmates in the local communities. The ride begins and ends in Foxboro, approximately 30 miles from the medical campus. For some students, the ride was quite timely as it came the weekend before their cardiology exam. The ride lengths of 25-, 50-, and 100-miles allowed cardiovascular health to be tested in a different way, and students joked biking was a nice way of “gettin’ some cardio in.” Ms. Scola notes that the Rodman Ride is a “great way to give back to the community by doing something that [she] love[s],” and it has the added benefit of building camaraderie with her teammates, and fellow BUSM students.

The team plans to continue fundraising with the window closing on Nov 20; make donations here.

Submitted by Clare Ronan, MD.