From: jlevine@rd.hydro.on.ca (Jody Levine)
Subject: Bra acution: Ride for Sight info.
Organization: Ontario Hydro - Research Division
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 20:37:24 GMT

I should have posted this earlier, so that everyone would know where their
money was going, but I like to do things at the last minute and did not
expect to be seeing cheques in the mail just yet. 

Fo those of you who have been on Mars lately, I'm auctioning off a bra for
charity. The highest bid so far is $104. Other kind and generous souls have
either already sent, or pledged to send donations as well. The following is
a description of the Ride for Sight, which is the pet charity of Canadian
motorcyclists. 

Short history -- from the 1993 Toronto Motorcycle Show guide
------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the dawn of time - well 1979, really - Jim Bentley and the York wings
Motorcycle Club decided to stage a motorcycle rally in support of a charity
which shall remain nameless. The aims were to raise money for a worthy cause,
and at the same time improve the image or motorcyclists to the general public.

A rally was organized, funds were raised, and the proceeds were sent to the
charity. They refused it! Motorcyclists were a Bad Image and they declined to
accept the funds. What to do with the money? Bentley had a friend with
Retinits Pigmentosa (RP), and had the idea of donating the money to the RP
Foundation. RP is a degenerative disease which attacks the retina in younger
people, eventually causing total blindness. No cure in known.

At the time, the foundation consisted of a few families who had gotten together
for support, to create some awareness of the disease and maybe raise some
research money. The money from that rally sent the group in motion, and from
then until now motorcyclists have raised more than $6 million for RP research
in Canada! Last year, 17 different medical scientists received research grants
from the Foundation, which has appointed a set of external referees to judge
the merits of the many requests.

The Ride for Sight has grown as much as the Foundation. From it's beginning
as a ride by college motorcyclists' group, it's grown to an even with more
that 8000 riders taking part in every province and territory in Canada.

---------------

(from the Ride for Sight brochure)

All the donor money raised for Ride for Sight goes to RP Research Foundation
that supports scientists working in Canadian universities and teaching
hospitals to help find a cure and a means of preventing RP and other closely
allied degenerations of the eye. RP is a group of genetic diseases affecting
thousands of Canadians. These diseases are the major cause of blindness in
people between the ages of 6 and 60.
----------------

The bra winner, and the other kind souls, should make their cheques
(or anything that would be easy to cash in Canada) to

   RP Foundation/Ride for Sight

and send them to me at

   Jody Levine
   63 Thirty-Sixth St.
   Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
       M8W 3L3

1993 Ontario Ride for Sight Rally info
--------------------------------------

Place: Fenelon Falls (near Peterborough)
When: weekend of June 18,19,20

To get in, everyone must have at least $50 in donations. If you're planning
to go and you're donating now, tell me so that you can get a letter of
receipt which will go toward your admission.

I'll be posting more on the rally itself as the date draws nearer.

Thanks again to everyone, and it appears that the bidding is still going..

I've        bike                      like       | Jody Levine  DoD #275 kV
     got a       you can        if you      -PF  | Jody.P.Levine@hydro.on.ca
                         ride it                 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada