By Grace Allen

Isabelle Taylor, age 15, participated in this year’s Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), which took place on August 6 and 7. But her fundraising method was pretty unusual for a young rider: she baked and sold cinnamon buns.

The rising KP sophomore started baking at age 12, and her cinnamon buns were an immediate hit. Calling her fledgling company “Isabelle Bakes,” the young Wrentham resident progressed to baking cakes and cupcakes, too, and selling them via her Facebook page and word-of-mouth. 

“People really liked the things I baked and I got great reviews,” said Taylor. “That was so nice to hear.”

When she decided to ride the PMC this year on Team We Will, she thought selling her homemade cinnamon buns was an obvious way to raise money. 

“Every time I would put my cinnamon buns on Facebook, they would sell out so fast,” she explained. “So I decided it would be a really good fundraising option because people love them anyway and it would be supporting a great cause.”

In one day, Taylor baked and sold 360 cinnamon buns, with the proceeds going to Team We Will.

Team We Will was started six years ago by Ali Fracassa, a family member of Taylor’s. Fracassa passed away last year at the age of 44 from colon cancer, but Team We Will bikes on in her memory. This is the first year Taylor rode with the team, which traveled the 50-mile route from Wellesley to Gillette Stadium, and then back to Wellesley. The team raised close to $50,000 for the PMC this year alone.

Family and friends were at the water stop in Medfield to encourage the team and cheer them on for the rest of their ride.

“It was really fun and definitely a good experience,” said Taylor, who is a member of KPHS’s student council, and KP Cares, the school’s community service group. “I got so much out of it.” 

Riders in this year’s Pan Mass Challenge could choose between 16 routes that ranged from 25 to 211 miles, across one or two days. This year’s ride included more than 6,300 registered riders from around the world with the goal of raising $66 million for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Donations to the PMC can be made through October 1. To help Isabelle Taylor’s fundraising efforts on Team We Will, visit www.pmc.org. Click on the DONATE tab and enter her name.

Isabelle Taylor sold her baked goods to raise money for the PMC.