Category: Impact

For Katia Celifie Aime, cycling means community. The sport has the power to heal, unify and empower people, especially women of color. Katia runs the Long Island chapter of a group called Black Girls Do Bike. As a “Shero,” a local leader in the group, Katia has created a safe space for women of color in her community to gather together and share their joy of movement and biking. Now, the group is setting its sights on Empire State Ride Long Island.

Black Girls Do Bike Long Island 

Black Girls Do Bike is a national organization with more than 100 chapters across the United States, plus a chapter in Antigua. The group welcomes people of all genders and races who share a common goal of advancing the health and wellbeing of women of color.

On Long Island, Black Girls Do Bike meets twice weekly during the summertime, offering options for everyone from advanced to beginner cyclists. They also offer workshops on riding fundamentals and bike maintenance and repair.

When Katia founded the local chapter a couple years back, she sought to break ground. As someone who loves cycling and has been riding for more than a decade, she was often discouraged by how few women of color were involved in the sport.

“Women of color historically have not been cycling so much,” Katia says. “Now, we’ve created a place where we can come to and say, ‘I am welcome here.’ But everyone else who wants to support us is welcome, as well.”

Thanks to Katia’s hard work and dedication, the group now has close to 300 members who gather together to stay healthy while inspiring and uplifting one another. Now, Katia and her team have decided to set their sights on tackling a health issue that hits close to home: cancer. Specifically, breast cancer.

“Empire State Ride came in right on time, because we’re seeing a lot of our cyclists — a lot of our females — being diagnosed [with cancer]. We’re getting this kind of news constantly,” Katia says. “When I heard about the Empire State Ride Long Island, which is a beautiful, beautiful cycling event, I said, ‘It’s a win-win.’ We’re raising awareness. We’re showing the world that we’re cycling women of color, and we’re here, too. We are battling and fighting for a cure while empowering women to cycle for their health.”

Your fundraising efforts make an impact!

Cancer care on Long Island and across New York State

When you fundraise for Empire State Ride (ESR) Long Island, you’re making a difference by fueling cancer research, clinical trials and care coordination for cancer patients on Long Island and in Western New York. That statewide impact is possible through the Roswell Park Care Network, centered in Buffalo at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, America’s first cancer center to focus exclusively on cancer research.

The funds raised through ESR Long Island will support cancer care at Roswell Park and its partner Catholic Health on Long Island, an affiliate of the Care Network. This collaboration enables direct access to the newest, most innovative treatments available only through clinical trials for patients under the skillful care of Catholic Health clinicians.

The Roswell Park Care Network is the most expansive community cancer, supportive and specialized care affiliation, spanning across New York State. This network of physicians and supportive care teams is committed to reducing the burden of cancer and bringing outstanding, comprehensive, guidelines-based care to people throughout New York State.

“The purpose of the Roswell Park Care Network, it’s very mission-driven,” says Roswell Park Chief of Strategy, Business Development and Outreach Thomas Schwaab, MD, PhD, who leads the Care Network. “It’s really to bring everything that makes Roswell Park special out to as many folks in New York State as possible.”

Part of the unique benefit of the Roswell Park Care Network is the access its partners have to clinical trials at Roswell Park. A clinical trial is a study designed to evaluate a promising new medical treatment before it can be made widely available to patients. Researchers develop new treatments for physicians to administer to patients who have enrolled in the trial and follow their progress. Physicians then report their observations back to researchers who focus their efforts accordingly.

When clinical trials identify effective treatments, these treatments will eventually become the new standard of care that will be offered to future patients. Today’s standard treatments were researched and proven by clinical trials done in the past.

Catholic Health provides the highest level of personalized cancer care designed to treat the whole person and not just the disease. At Catholic Health, patients don’t have to travel far from home for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach that addresses nutritional, social, emotional and spiritual needs to complement advanced medical options.

“In addition to the latest therapies offered through clinical trials, if a patient requires other specialty services and they walk into the offices of one of our affiliate providers like Catholic Health, they will have access to the expertise of Roswell Park’s subspecialists in Buffalo should it be needed,” says Dr. Schwaab. “Modern cancer care is an intricate symphony, coordinating different types of care and services. Catholic Health and Roswell Park work in concert to provide the best care available to patients on Long Island.”

Too many communities across New York have not had access to this expert level of care based on national best practices that centers like Roswell Park help to define. Catholic Health offers deep local insight together with world-class cancer care to local communities through its Care Network membership.  

“Being able to deliver top-tier care coordination to patients outside of Buffalo is a great priority,” says Dr. Schwaab.

You have a unique opportunity to support this partnership and bring the newest, promising cancer therapies to Long Island communities through ESR Long Island.