100 Elite Cyclists Surpass Goal of Raising $500,000 in 150-Mile Bike Tour for Camp Simcha, a Summer Camp for Sick Children

Participants in 2nd Annual Bike4Chai Raise $530,000 in Support of Chai Lifeline's Medically-Supervised Overnight Camp. End Quote

Monmouth-Ocean, NJ (1888PressRelease) August 13, 2011 - One hundred elite cyclists raised $530,000 in the 2nd Annual Bike4Chai in support of Camp Simcha, a medically-supervised overnight camp for seriously ill children. The 150-mile bike tour was sponsored by Chai Lifeline, an international non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the non-medical needs of sick children, their families and their communities. The riders started on August 3rd from The Berkeley hotel in Asbury Park, N.J. and made a triumphant entry on August 4th at Camp Simcha in Glen Spey, N.Y.

Aiming to top the $206,000 raised in last year's bike tour, this year's participants, many of them professionals from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, surpassed their goal of raising $500,000. This will allow 80 or more children with cancer and other serious illnesses to attend the expensive summer camp tuition-free. The top five fundraisers were Abie Maleh, Alan Shamah, Brian Haimm, Elliot S. Zaks and Michael Bauman, who combined raised more than $130,000.

Every year, Camp Simcha provides a full array of traditional camp activities, from archery to water activities, along with special events such as helicopter rides and concerts, to 430 seriously ill children. A state-of-the-art medical center, dedicated medical team, and specially-trained counselors ensure that even children on chemotherapy can enjoy two weeks of uninterrupted fun. Campers return home enriched by their experiences, with happy memories and new friends to help them through the rough patches in their lives.

"Biking up to 150 miles in 2 days is naturally very challenging," said Zaks, one of the top fundraisers who helped organize this year's ride and who is Director of Operations for Madison Commercial Real Estate Services (MCRES), based in Lakewood, N.J. "But riding into Camp Simcha at the end of the second day and seeing the looks on the faces of the kids there made all the difficulties disappear." In comparison to last year's ride, more than twice the number of cyclists participated this year and the total number of miles increased from 135 to 150 miles, although participants had the choice of riding 50, 75 or 100 miles on the first day.

This year's ride also had several corporate sponsors including The Berkeley, Asbury Park's premier boutique hotel offering guests modern luxury just steps from the famed boardwalk, which was where the cyclists stayed the night of August 2nd prior to the ride. Other sponsors included: Senior Planning Services; Brielle Cyclery; CH Cycle; Madison Commercial Real Estate Services; Star Pediatric Homecare Agency; South Shore Bicycle; Roy's, Brooklyn's oldest bike shop; Meridian Capital Group, LLC; New York Community Bancorp, Inc.; and MedWaste Management, LLC.

To learn more about Camp Simcha and its summer programs, visit http://www.campsimcha.org./

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