New endowment strengthens Miracle Riders’ philanthropic investment in nursing education, career readiness

October 13, 2026

On Oct. 13, just one year after fulfilling its unprecedented, multi-year $1 million fundraising commitment to Columbus State University, the Miracle Riders announced a new $150,000 endowment for the university.

Specifically, the endowment will fund maintenance and technology upgrades for the three clinical simulation labs it created in the university’s School of Nursing. The Miracle Riders created those labs through four fundraising motorcycle rides that have taken them to all four corners of the country and every state in between.

Scott Ressmeyer, founder of the Miracle Ride and co-owner of Country’s Barbecue, made the announcement at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. Since 2015, the foundation has accepted donations on the Miracle Riders’ behalf and will hold and manage the new endowment fund.

The endowment fund makes it possible to “keep things in good working order,” Ressmeyer said. “As we grew close to meeting our $1 million goal, we started thinking about how we could continue to support Columbus State’s School of Nursing. This endowment fund seemed like the perfect way to do that, while ensuring CSU’s nursing students continue to have access to this state-of-the-art clinical training environment.”

In 2021, the riders announced that they would donate up to $1 million in proceeds from their annual cross-country motorcycle rides to the School of Nursing to establish multiple pediatric-focused clinical simulation labs. Those labs would help educate and train nursing students in the school’s undergraduate and graduate programs: a BSN program; an online RN-BSN program; an online MSN program with tracks for Nurse Educator, Nurse Informaticist, or Nurse Leader; and an online FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) MSN program.

The 2022 ride funded lifelike robotic mannequins, technology and other enhancements for a new pediatric simulation lab. Funds raised in 2023 provided similar technology and enhancements for the school’s mother-baby simulation lab. The neonatal simulation lab, added after the 2024 and 2025 rides, has created opportunities for practicing nurses, first responders and others who provide direct medical care to infants, children, and expectant mothers to train alongside—and even mentor—CSU nursing students.

“At Columbus State, hands-on learning turns academic knowledge into career-ready excellence. The Miracle Riders’ enduring support continues to make state-of-the-art robotic technology a degree and career differentiator for our nursing students,” said Dr. Stuart Rayfield, president of Columbus State University. “This extraordinary investment enhances our experiential learning environment and reinforces our standing as an innovative regional leader in healthcare preparation.”

Each lab features interactive, lifelike robotic patient simulators that mimic realistic movements, facial expressions, breathing, vital signs and childbirth. According to Dr. Margie Yates, dean of the College of Education & Health Professions, these resources set Columbus State’s nursing program apart from programs at universities of similar or even larger size.

“These labs and the opportunity for our students to train on robotic simulators are game changers for our nursing programs,” Yates said. “They have become essential to building our students’ confidence in their bedside and patient-care skills before they begin hospital-based clinical rotations. These realistic clinical environments allow faculty to mentor students in a space that encourages trial-and-error learning.”

The School of Nursing is part of the university’s College of Education & Health Professions, which will continue to fund the simulation labs through a combination of endowment and university funds. The endowment will cover maintenance and upgrades to the mannequins, software, durable medical equipment, and accessories in the lab spaces. It will also maintain or replace the custom Miracle Rider murals in each simulation lab.

About the Miracle Ride

The Miracle Ride began in 2009 when Scott Ressmeyer set out alone on a cross-country ride through the 48 contiguous states to celebrate his 50th birthday and raise funds for the Children’s Hospital at Midtown Medical Center in Columbus. Over the next six years, an additional 29 motorcyclists—each paying all their own cross-country trip expenses, averaging $5,000 per trip—joined the ride, raising $1.2 million for the hospital’s pediatric services.

“These men have given of their time, reached into their own wallets and taken three weeks away from their families to go tell the story about the kids in our community—kids in high-risk nurseries, in pediatric hospitals, or future nursing students who are going to take care of our kids,” Ressmeyer said of his fellow Miracle Riders. “They all do it for one reason—from the heart. And if you do something from the heart, you have impact.”

After meeting their initial goal, the riders broadened their fundraising efforts to include other local services for children. In 2015, they established the Miracle Ride Fund at the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley and have since raised nearly $1.9 million for the fund. Since the inaugural ride in 2009, Scott and the riders have raised more than $3.1 million for children’s services.

For more information about the Miracle Riders, visit their website or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

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Media contacts: Columbus State University, Michael Tullier, APR; Miracle Riders: Marion Scott