Building off of the excitement around the team's first Super Bowl win in franchise history, the Eagles Autism Challenge is thrilled to offer a new matching gift promotion to new and existing bike registrants, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor.
Appropriately named the World Champion Cycling Matching Gift Drive, a $25,000 donation will be extended to Eagles Autism Challenge bike riders where all online donations raised by participants will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to the fundraising minimum. For example, if a donor makes a $100 donation to a participant's Eagles Autism Challenge fundraising page, the matching gift will donate a match of $100 to his or her account. The promotion is underway and will end once the matching gift funds are exhausted.
"This very generous donation has been made possible thanks in part to a lifelong Eagles fan," said Ryan Hammond, Eagles Autism Challenge Executive Director. "It is now the third matching gift that has been extended to participants, with the first $25,000 donation being matched within a day and the $50,000 matching gift hitting its mark within a week leading up to kickoff of Super Bowl LII.
"We deeply appreciate the charitable efforts of those who have already stepped forward to donate matching gifts to the Eagles Autism Challenge. Our mission is to help drive scientific breakthroughs and to establish Philadelphia as the worldwide destination for autism research and care."
The Eagles Autism Challenge, to be held on May 19th at Lincoln Financial Field, is an annual landmark cycling and 5K run/walk fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for innovative research and programs to help unlock the mystery of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The event features the Junior Hoagie 15-mile, Shorti Hoagie 30-mile, and Classic Hoagie 50-mile cycling routes, along with a family-friendly 5K run/walk. All routes begin and end at Lincoln Financial Field, with the finish line taking place at the 50-yard line. One hundred percent of participant-raised funds will be directed to autism research and programs at three nationally recognized research institutions – Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Drexel University, and Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health.
Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the country with one in 68 children affected and one in 42 boys, yet it has been historically underfunded, misunderstood, and under-researched. The Eagles Autism Challenge is working to bring thought leaders in the field of autism together to collaborate on groundbreaking research that will have a transformational impact around the world.
Registration fees and any other costs or fees associated with the Eagles Autism Challenge are not subject to this promotion and will not be matched. For more information, please visit EaglesAutismChallenge.org/challenge.
