Beth, a volunteer helping to coordinate donor drives to find a match for her friend, Wendy, saw a unique opportunity to run a drive and fundraiser through SoulCycle. With the help of Erin Howitt, an instructor and manager at the uptown cycle studio in New York, whose mother was also recently diagnosed with Leukemia, they were able to create a meaningful and fun event.

Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation and SoulCycle joined forces to host a donor recruitment drive on April 27th at the SoulCycle East location on 83rd Street. Not only did an impressive 281 new donors have their cheeks swabbed in just a few short hours, many offered to pay for the lab processing fees themselves. SoulCycle covered the cost of any remaining tests, and followed up a few weeks later by hosting a charity ride on May 7th. Nearly 75 riders paid $100 to join the special 45 minute master class and helped raise funds for Gift of Life. Nick Hudson, Special Projects Coordinator for Gift of Life (and a bone marrow donor), had the chance to join the class and said, “the workout was intensely difficult (I am admittedly not a gym guy) and incredibly gratifying. Being able to ride with the very instructors who, just moments before, had swabbed to save lives made it even more memorable."

SoulCycle's full-body indoor cycling workout combines inspirational coaching and high-energy music for an engaging workout that benefits both the mind and the body.  Fans of the workout are not only healthy and enthusiastic, they are highly engaged and eager to support worthwhile causes such as Gift of Life. Nick said, “the involvement of the loyal SoulCycle community puts one of their core beliefs into action: SoulCycle succeeds in making you become a better you, both on the outside and within."