By Maddy Vitale
Renee Wacker left her Sicklerville home Saturday morning to do something special for her sister, Elaine Kelly, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 25 years ago.
Wacker rides. It is something she does every year, a cause she is passionate about.
She meets up with other bicyclists in Cherry Hill for the Bike MS: City to Shore Ride into Ocean City, and cycles 75 miles to raise money for programs and in hopes of finding a cure to the disease.
Wacker also does it to show her 62-year-old sister that she is there for her 100 percent.
“She is home right now, but she is cheering me on through Facebook,” Wacker said.
She then turned to show a photo of her and her sister on her back with her cycling number below.
Wacker joined more than 6,000 other cyclists in the huge event that brings in millions of dollars to fight MS. Police directed traffic from Somers Point to Ocean City over the Ninth Street Bridge.
The ride benefits the Greater Delaware Valley MS Society and goes from Cherry Hill to Ocean City Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 30.
“It is an amazing event. It is unbelievable all of the support and volunteers for the event,” Wacker said.
Last year’s ride raised $5 million to fund critical services and groundbreaking research for some of the 2.3 million people diagnosed with MS nationwide, according to National Multiple Sclerosis Society Media Relations Manager Michelle Welk.
Welk said so far, they have raised $4.1 million and are on track to meet the goal of $5 million.
She noted that about 1,500 to 2,000 riders will make it back for a second ride Sunday.
“Participants continue fundraising for several weeks after the event, so while we’re doing really well already, there’s still time to donate and drive the number higher,” Welk said, adding it was so great to see such a huge turnout at the finish line.
Sheila Casey, director of teams at the National MS Society, said the event has been going strong for 38 years.
She joined the society 13 years ago as an intern and never left.
“The society is amazing. That is why I stay. They become your family. This ride is really important,” Casey said.
While any funds raised are appreciated, some participants really worked really hard to bring in the most monies, Casey said.
Matt Ramer and his team from Mor Wealth Management out of Philadelphia, raised more than $60,000. One of his clients at work has MS and a family member of the client also was diagnosed with MS.
This is Ramer’s first year participating in the event. He didn’t ride but he volunteered to photograph the event.
“I started to look around and I saw how many people are affected by this disease,” Ramer said. “We are nothing without each other.”
Riders glided over the finish line at Fifth Street and the Boardwalk. One cyclist put his hands in the air to celebrate. Spectators applauded the riders as they biked the route.
Tents were set up in the adjacent parking lot where riders and their families and friends sipped cool drinks, listened to a live band and picked up their Ride MS T-shirts.
Jen Plantz, 28, and her friend, Mark Paleafico, 27, both of Indianapolis, Ind., visiting her relatives in Ocean City, left from Cherry Hill and completed the ride.
“My dad had MS. He was riding for MS for years. He passed away of cancer last year,” Plantz said.
Plantz and Paleafico raised more than $1,200 combined to fight MS.
But the ride was about more than raising funds for MS, although that was an important part of the goal, Plantz said.
She added, “We rode in honor of my dad.”
For more information visit www.nationalmssociety.org.
