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2021 Clarkston High School Graduate, Jolee Nicholas, is embarking on an adventure few would ever consider attempting…and she’s doing it for children.

On June 11, this ambitious young lady will throw six weeks of biking/camping gear on her bicycle and head off on a nearly 3,000-mile trip to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Many people have asked her “What would possess a 19-year-old girl to spend her summer riding her bike beyond the Arctic Circle?” The answer was simple, she has a mission. “In the United States, 1 in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20 and of those, 1 in 5 will not survive. As a college student, I don’t have a lot of extra money to donate but I do have my health and an ability…” she replies.  This summer her mission is to bring awareness to children’s cancer and to raise more than $10,000 for the non-profit organization Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (CCTDI) located in Portland, Oregon.

Like many, cancer has hit close to home for Jolee.  She has watched the devastating impact cancer can have on families and friends, and knows advancement in research is the answer so many families are depending on. 

Jolee goes on to say, “My grandmother passed away from brain cancer later in life, but children with cancer aren’t always afforded the opportunity to live a full life. Many are often required to spend their childhood in hospitals and going to chemotherapy, instead of playing with their friends at the park. Children with cancer may never know what it’s like to live a normal life. Cancer research has made great advancements over the years, but too often, cancers specific to children are overlooked.”

If you want to see what six weeks of self-contained cycling looks like or to meet this amazing young lady in person, she will start her adventure with the annual I Made the Grade bike ride up the old spiral highway.  I Made the Grade begins at Chief Timothy Park at 8 a.m. on June 11^th.

You can follow Jolee’s fundraising adventure through daily updates via Facebook (riding for research) or Instagram (@riding_for_research).

For more information about CCTDI, please visit their website: https://www.cc-tdi.org/