The 45th annual Prouty raised a record-breaking $12.01 million for Dartmouth Cancer Center on July 10 and 11, making this year’s fundraiser the most successful in the event’s history. Nearly 4,800 participants and 500 volunteers gathered in Hanover and across the Upper Valley for the annual event.
Friends of Dartmouth Cancer Center director Pat McBride attributed the record fundraising total to the generosity of participants and donors, continued support from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation’s dollar-for-dollar matching challenge and community confidence in Dartmouth Cancer Center’s work.
“We had almost 4,800 participants — about 400 more than last year — as well as 500 or so volunteers,” he wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth. “I think the match that we receive from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation is a significant motivating factor for people, knowing their impact is doubled when they make a gift. I also think the Dartmouth Cancer Center itself and the great work it is doing on behalf of its patients inspires our participants in amazing ways,” he wrote.
Founded in 1982 after four Dartmouth Cancer Center nurses rode 100 miles through New Hampshire’s White Mountains to honor their patient Audrey Prouty, the fundraiser has grown into one of northern New England’s largest charitable events. Today, it brings together cyclists, walkers, rowers, golfers, volunteers and virtual participants in nine events to raise money for cancer research, clinical trials and patient support programs. Those interested in participating remotely could still register, raise funds and complete a self-chosen activity regardless of their location.
Funds raised through the Prouty support pilot research grants, clinical trials, patient support services and the Dartmouth Cancer Center’s Healing Harvest food program. McBride said at least $1 million will be allocated to funding the Cancer Center’s Individualized Mentorship Program to Accelerate Cancer Training program, which finances post-baccalaureate cancer researchers’ work.
Preparing for the Prouty is a “year-long effort,” McBride wrote. He credited a “small but mighty” staff, the Friends of Dartmouth Cancer Center board, the Prouty Executive Committee — which consists of volunteers and staff — and hundreds of volunteers with organizing the event each year.
“Our success is all about the support we receive from the community,” McBride wrote. “The Prouty community is a tremendously committed one and they rose to the occasion again this year.”
Dartmouth students were among the thousands of participants who contributed to this year’s record-setting fundraiser.
Among the most active student organizations was Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority. According to KDE summer philanthropy chair Mia Sisitsky ’28, the chapter raised just under $24,000 and registered more than 60 participants, including sorority members, family and friends.
She said members participated in nearly every event, including the 100-mile and 50-mile bike rides, the 10K and 5K runs, rowing, volunteering and virtual participation.
“I think there’s a misconception that the Prouty is an event only for cyclists,” Sisitsky said. “We had sisters participate in so many other ways, from volunteering to running the 10K to rowing.”
What stood out most to Sisitsky, however, was the number of KDE members who found different ways to participate throughout the weekend.
“Even beyond meeting the fundraising goal, I was quite proud of how many members showed up to participate,” she said. “It was really amazing to see how everyone came together.”
For many, she said, the fundraiser’s cause was personal.
“So many members and their families have been personally impacted by cancer,” Sisitsky said. “It was really touching to see how many people were participating or fundraising in honor of someone else in their lives.”
That broad participation was evident to KDE member Ginny Cobb ’28, who completed the 100-mile ride for the second consecutive summer. Cobb said she frequently ran into friends at the ride’s support stations, where participants could rest and refuel.
“It was so nice that there were people I knew everywhere,” Cobb said. “I biked with a lot of different people.”
Campbell Marton ’28 completed the 100-mile ride despite having little cycling experience.
“I don’t ride or cycle at all, and it was such a welcoming community,” Marton wrote in an email to The Dartmouth. “Tons of strangers would just come up to you on the rides or at the support stations and chat you up, and overall the energy was very positive, upbeat and supportive.”
Marton wrote the final climb up West Wheelock Street into Hanover was a “great way to end the ride” and “really push” herself.
Chiara Kimelia ’28 completed the 50-mile route — the farthest she has ever rode — and wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that the experience reshaped what she thought was possible.
“It kind of felt like the world opened up a little,” Kimelia wrote. “If I can bike 50 miles then there are so many places I can go just with my own body.”
Kimelia said the ride also brought her alongside cancer survivors participating in the event, some of whom carried “survivor” tags.
She wrote that one of the weekend’s most memorable moments came at the top of the final major climb, where older volunteers cheered riders beneath a banner reading, “You’re over the hill, and so are we!”
“It felt like being a part of something bigger than myself,” she wrote. “We raised so much money for an amazing cause.”
Isabel Menna ‘29 is a reporter from Leavenworth, Wash., is majoring in economics and is a member of the Dartmouth Ski Patrol.
