The local Wear Yellow Ride was organized by Mike and Stacy Buckley in 2003 as a way to rally the Omaha community in riding for a good cause: their entry into the prestigious Austin LIVESTRONG Challenge.
As passion for the cause grew and more people wanted to get involved, the group’s focus started to shift inwards, and they made the decision to form a nonprofit organization and keep the funds from the annual event in Nebraska to support cancer survivors in our own community.
Wear Yellow Nebraska officially became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2009 with a clear focus on niche initiatives that offered cancer survivors support in ways that weren’t being addressed and for people who would otherwise fall through the cracks, truly caring for an individual’s special circumstances.
To sustain our mission, we network with local donors, corporate sponsors, riders, walkers and runners, survivors, business partners, and volunteers to continue growing our events to fund our initiatives.
The Wear Yellow Cab Ride
As a cancer survivor, co-founder and past president Mike Buckley had the idea to start funding cab rides for cancer patients in Omaha who were without access to transportation, a need he discovered during his own treatment journey.
Access to rides to and from treatment are essential because patients are in a weakened state and often times left unable to drive themselves, which also leaves them vulnerable to lapses in vital medical care. Even if patients do have family and friends who can help, they aren’t always available.
The annual Wear Yellow Ride turned into a way to fund vital transportation by providing free cab rides to cancer patients in need, and the cab rides remain our primary program to date. A Ride for a Ride.
Since launching our free cab ride program in 2012, Wear Yellow Nebraska has funded more than $350,000 dollars providing more than 20,500 cab rides to Nebraska cancer patients in need.
