SPRINGFIELD –Chicago firefighters who are bicycling from the Windy City to Boston to raise money for pediatric leukemia research are due to roll into downtown Springfield Thursday afternoon on the final leg of their 1,000 mile journey.
The team, comprised of 18-riders and seven support staff, are expected to cross the Memorial Bridge and arrive at Court Square by 5 p.m., said Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.
The Springfield Fire Department is planning a brief welcoming ceremony in Court Square for them, Leger said. The Fire Department and members of the firefighters union are expected to make a donation to their effort during the ceremony
The newly opened “Q” restaurant is donating food for them to eat and Aaron’s Rentals on Boston Road is donating bottles of water and refreshments, Leger said.
The Chicago firefighters are riding to benefit the two causes, the Henry Schueler 41&9 Foundation and the Ignite The Spirit Fund.
Schueler was a young athlete from Chicago who died in 2007 from a type of cancer called acute lymboblastic leukemia.
Ignite the Spirit is a charity formed by Chicago firefighters to help families in need.
The ride began May 26 at Wrigley Field in Chicago and headed east with a goal of arriving at Fenway Park in Boston on Friday. Along the way there have been stopovers in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Niagara Falls, Cooperstown, Albany in New York. Springfield is the final stage before they head off for Boston.
The goal is to raise $100,000, of which $25,000 will go to the Ignite the Spirit Fund, and the remaining $75,000 to the Schueler foundation.
Leger said anyone who is interested in donating to the cause is welcome to attend the ceremony at Court Square. There will also be celebration party beginning at 6 p.m. in La Quinta Inn & Suites on Congress Street that is also open to the public, Leger said.
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