A Palm Beach County woman spent six days on a motorcycle covering 7,000 miles through all 48 contiguous states, averaging more than 1,100 miles a day, all to raise money for the nonprofit that once gave her family a place to stay while her premature daughter fought for her life. Jess Rips, also known online as Jess Jodoin, raised $17,560 for Quantum House through the ride, then presented the check in person with both of her daughters standing beside her, according to CBS 12.
A Debt Paid Back on Two Wheels
Rips started the cross-country ride on May 12, with a goal of finishing in six days, according to CBS12. She rode a 2025 Indian Challenger more than 7,000 miles from Vermont to Washington, as reported by the Palms West Journal. The station's report notes she averaged more than 1,100 miles a day throughout the trip.
The ride traces back to a far more painful chapter in Rips's life. Twenty-two years ago, she and her family stayed at Quantum House while her daughter, born prematurely at just 2 pounds, 1 ounce, received lifesaving medical care nearby, per the same account from the Palms West Journal. That daughter spent nearly three months at St. Mary's Medical Center, and Quantum House gave the family a place to stay close to her, easing what would have otherwise been a crushing financial burden, according to CBS12.
Full Circle Moment With Both Daughters
When Rips finally presented her $17,560 check to Quantum House, she brought both of her daughters along, letting the child who once depended on the nonprofit's support see the place that sheltered them firsthand. As reported by CBS 12, Rips called the moment, showing her daughter where she stayed, a full circle one, and said giving back to a cause so personally meaningful was a way to pay it forward; she described the ride itself as exhausting, citing shifting weather, heavy traffic, and the mental and physical demands of staying on the bike day after day.
Rips has ridden motorcycles since she was 18, and used the attention the ride generated online, documented through her Rips Unfiltered YouTube channel, to spotlight Quantum House's mission. Quantum House president and CEO Greg Quattlebaum said the organization helps families focus on their children rather than on logistics or cost, per a report from CBS 12. The nonprofit provides lodging, meals, laundry, socialization, and support to families whose children are undergoing medical treatment in Palm Beach County, reducing the financial strain families face while their kids are hospitalized, the Palms West Journal reports.
A Home Base With Room to Grow
Quantum House, located on the campus of St. Mary's Medical Center, serves both local families and others who travel from around the country and the world, according to the Paley Institute. Descriptions of the facility's size vary: the Palms West Journal has described it as a 30-suite home, while the Paley Institute lists ten guest rooms alongside a communal kitchen, living room, playroom, playground, back deck, and butterfly garden. Quantum House's own mission statement emphasizes that the goal is simple — allowing families to focus on healing, according to Quantum House.
Rips isn't the only rider to take on a 48-state motorcycle challenge for a cause. Shantell Williams, a mother of 16 children from Bay County, rode solo to all 48 contiguous states and earned a Guinness World Record in 2016 for completing the route in 27 days, later finishing the same trip again in just 23 days, according to FOX10 News. Williams, who also owns Shantell's Cafe in Sanford, took a dramatically different pace than Rips, whose six-day run through all 48 states stands as its own feat of endurance for Palm Beach County.
