She urges bikers to join her in fundraiser

In a cause close to her heart, one woman sets up motorcycle run to fight cancer, By Gretchen van Nuys Wantage — When Jackie Allen-Accetta, joined by friends and family, revs the engine of her Harley Davidson Fatboy and hits the road this Sunday, she’ll be combining her interest in motorcycles with her desire to help fight cancer and support members of her family who’ve been stricken with the disease. Her sister is a breast-cancer survivor and her father is a prostate-cancer survivor. Allen-Accetta is spearheading the motorcycle run in conjuction with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, taking place this weekend on the campus of Sussex County Community College. “This is to raise money for our team,” she said. Allen-Accetta works in the college’s business office. “I thought I’d do a motorcycle run and see how it goes.” She hopes to make it an annual event. A three-year veteran of the Relay for Life, Allen-Accetta is the captain of her team this year, “Allen Family & Friends,” which consists of her sister, sister-in-law, nieces and friends. Her involvement with Relay for Life, in which teams will walk laps on the college campus from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning, has had a strong impact. The “remembrance” lap walked in silence is especially poignant, she says. “When you get involved in this, it gets very emotional — it’s a beautiful thing.”

The course
Participants in this Sunday’s motorcycle run will depart from the Sussex-Wantage Library at 11 a.m. and will travel from Wantage through Port Jervis and Hawk’s Nest to Hawley and Lake Wallenpaupack before heading back to New Jersey.

Find out more
About Relay for Life
Visit relayforlife.org
To donate to Jackie Allen-Accetta’s team, look for Allen Family & Friends, #7047