Four friends challenged themselves by riding their bikes for 200 miles over two days in the Florida Keys while raising money for Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. Anthony Frison, Jack O’Shea, Yann Parrot and Zack Marcoux all admit it was a difficult adventure, but it is a task they seemingly accomplished with ease. Despite challenges during the ride from Key Largo, Fla. to Key West, Fla. and back, all four cyclists completed the long journey and surpassed their fundraising goal by collecting nearly $13 thousand along the way.

“It was 200 miles, three flat tires in 90-degree weather, but we had a blast doing it for a great cause and for a local charity,” said Zack Marcoux. “We look forward to contributing to this event for years to come and hopefully continuing to grow it to include even more people.”

This is the second year that the cyclists have held the event, but the first year that the event supported Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. After learning about the organization’s pandemic recovery programs, the friends decided to concentrate their efforts on the Clubs. The group was impassioned to support the Club’s emergency hunger relief programs which served 1.2 million free meals to children and a week’s worth of groceries to more than 100 thousand Club family members last year.

“The struggles that we have come through with the pandemic and the funding that is still needed really drove us to fundraise more for the Clubs,” said Jack O’Shea. “Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County has such a good reputation of helping the community that it made the fundraising a lot easier because people want to help the organization.”

The donation from the charity bike ride will make a difference in the Clubs. In essence, it will cover all of the hot meals for the children in a Club for five weeks. With this goal in mind, the cyclists say it gave them strength to finish the ride.

“When I started to feel the pain and the burning in my legs, I thought about the kids and that gave me the motivation to keep going,” said Yann Parrot. “It’s such a worthwhile cause that it made the pain go away instantly.”

“Thinking about the impact that $13 thousand can have on a Club, and how many Club members might not have a meal without these funds, that really means a lot to us,” said Marcoux.

To show gratitude for their achievement and determination, Club members gave the four cyclists personalized thank you cards and glass plaques.

Donations are still being collected for the charity bike ride. Click the button below if you would like to show your support.