A Special St. Baldrick's Fundraising Opportunity

St Baldrick’s was founded on the idea of shaving heads to raise money for pediatric cancer research. The shaved head symbolizes what children must endure when undergoing chemotherapy to treat their cancers; loss of their hair. I shaved my head for the 1st time in 2005; not long after my daughter Jennifer was diagnosed with Leptomeningeal sarcoma at the age of 14. I’ve shaved every year since; and along with Jennifer became a committee member for the Northport NY events, participating in the Napper Tandy’s event each year. Sadly we lost Jennifer in 2010 but her spirit continues to burn brightly. In her honor I created the “Jen’s Ducks” team. Every year since; my wife Anita and I, along with friends and coworkers honor Jennifer’s spirit by going bald in her honor. We will do so again on March 10th at Nappers.

While head shaving events have proven very successful in generating the much needed funding for children’s cancers; not everyone is keen to have their head shaved. The foundation recognizes this and has sought to add other unique events to it calendar by creating the “Do what you want” concept. This is leading to new creative fundraising events.

Anyone who has heard those dreaded words; “Your child has cancer” can understand what a difficult road lies ahead for their child; one filled with tests of their strength, stamina, and courage. There are many changes of direction, big hills to climb, hazards to avoid, tests of your will, and always an eye towards the finish line.

What if we were to symbolize this journey with a St Baldrick’s event? An event that will test the mettle of the participants while raising much needed funds for our true warriors? Done! Introducing the first ever St Baldrick’s 5 Boro Bike Tour Team!

Every year in New York on the 1st Sunday in May; 32,000 Bicyclists saddle-up for a 40-mile bike ride through all 5 Boroughs of New York City. This World-Class event begins in the financial district under the shadows of 1 World Trade center (The Freedom Tower), heads up the Avenue of the Americas, through Central Park, through Harlem and across the 1st of 5 bridges into “Da Bronx”. Crossing a 2ND bridge it turns south down the FDR Drive, then up and over the Queensboro (59th Street) Bridge. It then snakes through the many neighborhoods of Queens and Brooklyn, passing under the historic Brooklyn Bridge, turning onto a car-less BQE leading to the grand finale; an epic climb over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge with a hair raising downhill sprint to the finish in Staten Island.

For 2018 Ten of these 32,000 riders will be making a difference in the lives of kids fighting cancer by being a part of the first-ever St Baldrick’s 5-Boro bike tour team! I’m honored to be an organizer and team captain of this inaugural event on the St Baldrick’s calendar and grateful to Cindy Bray for championing this idea within the foundation. We are hopeful that this becomes a fixture on the events calendar and like the foundation itself; continues to grow each year. Our team will be riding in memory of all the angels we have lost; and in the hope of finding new avenues to successful outcomes for all children fighting cancer present and future.

If you’d like to be a part of this epic event we still have a few openings, Teammates are pledged to raise a minimum of $1,000 (or more). Our team page link is; www.stbaldricks.org/events/5boro Here you can register as a rider, support us with a donation, and monitor our progress as we drive… uh, ride towards our goal. And of course there’s no shaving required!

…ON YOUR LEFT!

John Accardo

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