Motorcycle Events (Int'l)

COLUMBUS, Ga., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbus businessman Scott Ressmeyer and 11 friends are two-thirds of the way through their 2013 Scott's Ride for Miracles, a 21-day, 9,000-mile, 48-state motorcycle trek to raise awareness and money to benefit Children's Miracle Network at The Medical Center in Columbus, Ga.  The so-called Miracle Riders left The Medical Center on Friday, May 3. They have spent the last two weeks travelling through the south, up the west coast and through the plains and Midwest.

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As they begin their final week of the fundraising journey, they will ride through the Ohio Valley and then down the East Coast, before arriving back home in Columbus, Georgia on Friday, May 24. During a stop in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, May 22, the Miracle Riders will be honored in a special ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. At 10:00 a.m. on May 22, Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA 3^rd District) will present the riders with a United States flag that flew over the Capitol on May 3, the day the 2013 Miracle Ride began.

Before the special ceremony, the riders will take time to visit hospitalized pediatric patients at Children's National Medical Center on May 22. This is one of several visits the riders have made to Children Miracle Network hospitals along their journey. The riders stopped at BSA Children's Hospital in Amarillo, Texas, on May 7. The riders also visited kids at the Rapid City Regional Hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Wednesday, May 15. 

What began in 2009 as a one-time, solo trip to commemorate Ressmeyer's 50^th birthday, has turned into an annual event that now includes additional riders. In 2010, 11 riders made the trip; In 2011 and 2012, 14 riders participated.  In addition to taking time off work and funding all personal expenses associated with the ride including hotels, meals and gasoline, each of Scott's Miracle Riders is committed to raising at least $2,500 to participate.

In its first four years, Scott's Ride for Miracles raised more than $430,000 for neonatal and pediatric services at The Medical Center. Ressmeyer says the ultimate goal now is to raise $1 million over the course of the Ride.

The Miracle Riders have a blog to journal their travels. People interested in following their blogs may log ontowww.rideformiracles.com. The blog also contains a live video feed of the riders' journey. The riders can also receive direct messages at #srm2013.

The 2013 Scott's Ride for Miracles received a special donation at the kickoff ceremony in March. The Grainger Foundation has donated $50,000 to Scott's Ride in support of The Children's Miracle Network at The Medical Center. This donation was recommended by Brian Brock, Branch Manager of W.W. Grainger, Inc.'s Columbus, Ga., location, and 2013 Miracle Rider.  Grainger has been a part of the Columbus business community for more than 23 years as the leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products.  The Grainger Foundation, an independent, private foundation based in Lake Forest, Illinois, was established in 1949 by William W. Grainger, founder of W.W. Grainger, Inc.

Anyone can make a donation to the 2013 Scott's Ride for Miracles by logging onto the event's website atwww.rideformiracles.com.

Contact: Anne Holmes 
(706) 660-6566; (706) 320-1305 (pager) 
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SOURCE Columbus Regional Healthcare System