Patrick Dempsey Rides His Way to Raising $1.2 Million for Cancer Center
Actor Patrick Dempsey returned to hometown of Lewiston, Maine, to take part in Dempsey Challenge fundraiser, which has both riding and running components.
Dempsey participated in the ride to raise money for the Dempsey Center, which provides counseling and holistic medicine to cancer patients and their families.
The event raised $1.2 million for the Center.
Actor Patrick Dempsey may be best known for his portrayal as Dr. Derek Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy, but in real life, he’s making his mark in the medical world, too. On September 28 to 29, Dempsey took to his bike to help raise money for the Dempsey Center, an organization that helps cancer patients and their families heal both physically and psychologically.
The ride was part of the annual Dempsey Challenge, a running and cycling event that fundraises so that patients can receive care that they need. There are two rides over the weekend—the first is a 12-15 mile no-drop ride, and the second is broken up into groups taking on 100, 65, 50, 25, and 10 miles. There are also timed 5K and 10K races, as well as a children’s fun run.
“I’ve trained a little bit. Will I be as fast as the pros this year? No, but we’ll have a good ride,” Dempsey said to the Sun Journal. “For me, it’s about getting my family together and riding with old friends—rolling along this beautiful Maine countryside.”
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Dempsey founded the Dempsey Center in 2008 to help families and individuals diagnosed with cancer. It’s located in Lewiston, Maine, where Dempsey grew up, and where his mother was first treated for ovarian cancer in 1997. She passed away from the disease in 2014.
Since 2009, Dempsey has returned to the area each year for the annual ride. This year, the event raised $1.2 million for the Center, according to Nancy Audet, the communications manager at the Dempsey Center.
“Every dollar raised by participants directly supports Dempsey Center services, making life better for people managing the impact of cancer,” Audet told Bicycling. “Services include counseling and support groups, youth programs, movement and fitness, nutrition, acupuncture, and oncology massage. All services are provided at no cost.”
Dempsey grew up riding around his hometown in Maine, so in many ways, this brings him back to his roots. With the inevitable fame from his role in Grey’s, Dempsey looks to cycling as a way to ground himself and clear his head.
“On the bike, you can get a workout and a therapy session,” Dempsey told Bicycling in a 2012 interview. “When you’re on a ride, you calm down, you start to breathe, then you start to be clearer about your thought processes and what’s bothering you; it just floats up to the surface.”
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