Special Closer To Free car on display June 25 at Smilow Cancer Hospital

Wallingford Buick GMC and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven’s Closer to Free bike ride have partnered for the second year in a row. Wallingford Buick GMC will provide all support vehicles for this year’s Sept. 12 ride. In addition, GMC of Wallingford has created a specially designed car, wrapped in Closer to Free promotion that will sit on their dealer lot to advertise this year’s ride. This car will be raffled off, and the winner will receive a two- year car lease, with proceeds going to one of the CTF ride teams. A senior manager from Wallingford Buick GMC said “Nothing comes closer to inspiration than being at the Closer to Free Ride.”

The Fifth Annual Closer to Free bike ride will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015 and consists of three professionally designed and fully staffed routes of either 25 miles, 62.5 miles and an incredible 100 mile ride which features the best of the Connecticut coastline. The ride is supported by a dedicated team and a road crew that has made Closer to Free “Connecticut’s best organized ride.” Last year our 1,200 riders, supported by 400 volunteers, raised over $1,700,000. One hundred percent of the funds raised by riders and volunteers go to the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center.

The media are invited to come see the specially wrapped car this Thursday.

Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), part of Yale New Haven Health, is a nationally recognized, 1,541-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine (YSM). Founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826, today, YNHH has two New Haven-based campuses, and also includes Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital and Smilow Cancer Hospital. YNHH has received Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nation’s highest honor of nursing excellence. YNHH has a combined medical staff of about 4,500 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. www.ynhh.org