Bikers raise money for Florida children fighting serious illnesses to experience year-round 'summer camp'

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Hundreds of bikers hit the road for a good cause, Sunday morning. They rolled out of Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach for the 29th annual Bruce Rossmeyer Ride for Children, with proceeds from the charity ride benefiting Camp Boggy Creek.

"We have a lot of pre-registered riders out today, it's going to be a great ride, we have great sponsors, it just feels good. People were here before seven wanting to sign up," said volunteer Mandy Rossmeyer.

They hit the road with a police escort promptly at ten, riding from Ormond Beach to Camp Boggy Creek, in Eustis. "We've been doing this since I moved here, and it's a great cause, help the kids," said rider Craig Reimer.

Camp Boggy Creek was founded in 1996, as a place where children ages 7 to 16 with serious illnesses could go year-round for a "summer camp" experience. It serves thousands of campers and their families through activity-packed weekly and weekend camp programs, and it's absolutely free.

"This is a camp where kids who have heart disease, cancer, epilepsy, there's 16 different diagnosis groups that we serve, where they can come and get a piece of their childhood back. Because so often, serious illness takes that away from them," said Dan Jurman, Camp Boggy Creek CEO. The camp hopes to raise about $400,000 from today's ride. They said that over the ride's 29-year history it's brought in more than $7 million for Camp Boggy Creek.

Along with all the usual summer camp activities, the camp also has a medical staff and facilities. John and Elena Martin have a son with epilepsy. They said they treasured their visits to the camp. "He gets to come here, and feel like a regular kid," said Elena, "you get to meet other kids with epilepsy. Last year was his first year and he said, 'Mom, I met two kids who take medicine like me!' He's never experienced anything like that before in his life."