Clayton Resident Debuts Her Cycling Skills At Charity Ride

This Saturday at the second Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Metro St. Louis’ Bike Ride, Nancy Powers Pritchard of Clayton will be participating in her first charity ride.

“I want to be able to do the race and be able to sit down the next day without too much pain,” Powers Pritchard said. “I think this is a good ride for my husband Luke and me to see how we do. Maybe next time we’ll do a 50-mile race and then a 75-mile one.”

The bike ride benefits RMHC, which helps the three Ronald McDonald Houses in St. Louis provide a home away from home for families traveling to St. Louis to receive medical care for their seriously ill children. Organizers of the bike ride, sponsored by Mercy Children’s Hospital, expect 400 riders, 200 volunteers and $365,000 in fundraising.

Although it’s her first charity bike ride, this event is not Powers Pritchard’s first time on a bike. In fact, at least once a week she and her husband are riding around Forest Park, where this Saturday’s RMHC ride will take place, or on the Katy Trail. In addition to keeping fit by cycling, she also takes kettlebell classes at Studio RKC in Clayton and plays golf in a league at Forest Park.

Powers Pritchard got involved with RMHC through her employer the Moneta Group in Clayton.

“At Moneta, we have a core group of charitable projects, known as Moneta Momentum. Anyone at Moneta can organize a project, get colleagues involved and then apply to the Moneta Group Charitable Foundation for a grant,” said Powers Pritchard, who is the company’s communications and marketing director.

“I’ve organized two walks for autism, helped build three Habitat for Humanity homes and worked with a one-day Junior Achievement project,” she said.

In addition to her work at Moneta Group, volunteering and exercising, Powers Pritchard writes and teaches poetry. “I teach for Springboard, a program that puts teaching artists into city schools. I teach poetry to students in grades six through eight in the inner city.”

Her work has been published in literary journals including Winter Harvest: Jewish Writing in St. Louis, and she was a winner of The Wednesday Club of St. Louis prize.

A St. Louis native, Powers Pritchard is a loyal fan of Clayton where she lives and works.

“I feel lucky to live in such a unique community that accommodates everyone. It’s a tight-knit community. When we go out to dinner we very rarely use our car,” she said. “And I love that our community cares about our citizens and spends money to make our lives better.”