Bikers hit road to raise money for charity
Ride takes them from Merrill Park to Hunterdon County and back
BY COLLEEN LUTOLF
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI staff Bikers return from their 60-mile run to benefit local children with life-threatening illnesses in the 6th annual John Perricone Memorial Dollars for Danielle bike run Sunday.

Most any biker would agree that Sunday was a perfect day to ride. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot, and a light breeze was blowing that could cool the sweat off any biker’s bandannaed brow.

But the reason 70 or so bikers rode together last Sunday in a 60-mile run from Merrill Park in Iselin through Hunterdon County and back to the county park was not for the weather, but for a 13-year-old Colonia girl named Stephanie Santonastaso who was recently treated for ovarian cancer.

Every year since 1999, bikers have gathered on a May morning in Merrill Park to participate in the John Perricone Memorial Dollars for Danielle Motorcycle Run and Picnic, where they donate $20 (plus the cost of a little gasoline) to fuel their bikes and the hopes of a Woodbridge family whose child is suffering a life-threatening illness.

The $4,800 raised this year will go directly to the Stephanie Santonastaso Fund. When Santonastaso was 5, her mother, Laura, said, she was diagnosed with an immune deficiency disorder that allows chronic infections to enter her body. Every four weeks, Stephanie must enter the hospital to receive IV medical treatment to boost her immune system.

In August, Stephanie had a tumor the size of a football removed from her right ovary, the Colonia Middle School student said. The cancer that inhabited her body was not a result of her immune deficiency, but an unrelated illness from which she has been in remission for eight months.

At the picnic after the run, Stephanie said she felt good.

"I’m happy that other people are helping me," she said as she sat at a picnic table next to her best friend, Nicole Darpino, 12.

Darpino said she and Santonastaso have been friends for three years, "ever since fourth grade."

"I just want her to be happy," Darpino said. "She’s always a happy girl. She always puts her pain aside and is very perky."

Laura Santonastaso said the hard times are made easier by having a strong support system of family and friends.

"I am the most fortunate person in the world to have the family and friends and support that I have," she said. "I’m very happy to see so many people here on behalf of my daughter and I."

Bill DeCosimo, of Iselin, said this is the first time he participated in the run.

"I have a lot of friends who make the ride every year," said DeCosimo, a member of the Liberty HOG MC, Rahway Chapter. "It’s a good thing. There’s a lot of bikers out there who come. We get a bad rap and everything, but it’s good for charity. We care. We really do."

John Perricone organized the first run, called Dollars for Danielle, six years ago when he discovered Woodbridge Police Officer Bill Draina’s 5-year-old daughter, Danielle, suffered from leukemia, Perricone’s sister, Karen, said. Perricone, who owned J&J Auto, a service station in Colonia, used to ride with a lot of Woodbridge cops, some who were in the Blue Knights Motorcycle Club — a bike club comprised of police officers.

"A bunch of Woodbridge cops ride on Sundays, and John would ride with us," Draina said at this year’s picnic. Draina said Perricone approached him and his wife, Fran, about doing a fund-raiser for Danielle.

"The first event, we saw how large it was," Fran Draina said. "All these bikes were pulling out for her. It was very emotional. People think bikers are lowlifes, but they come out, and so do a lot of businesses in the township, to give so much, to make it a success."

Danielle has now been in remission for five years. Karen Perricone says Danielle is the event’s inspiration.

"She was on a feeding tube for two years," Perricone said. "Now, oh my god, she’s a beautiful little girl. She’s gorgeous. You look at her, and you know miracles can happen."

At the second bike-run fund-raiser, Perricone said her brother made an announcement.

"At the 2000 run, John announced he had cancer," Perricone said. "It started in his saliva glands and we thought he was going to be fine. We didn’t see till the final weeks that he wasn’t going to make it."

Karen Perricone said she promised her brother she would pick up the torch and continue the charity. The Drainas suggested she add her brother’s name to the run.

"He’s there watching over all of us," Perricone said. "He’d be so thrilled with Danielle. He loved that little girl. He really did. She’s proof that miracles do happen. We’re praying Stephanie will be our next miracle."

"I just want to everyone to know how thankful I am," Santonastaso said. "And I want to extend my best wishes to Danielle and her family."

Eddie Thompson, of Colonia, grew up with John Perricone. He helps Perricone’s sister continue the tradition his friend began six years ago.

"We grew up together, we worked together, we partied together," Thompson said. "Karen said she’d keep it going, and we said ‘We’ll help you.’ "

"She’s a great person," Stephanie Santonastaso said of Karen Perricone at the picnic.

Perricone said she owes it all to her brother.

"He was my best friend," she said. "He left me his motorcycle. I don’t ride a lot but I have a bike. I know every time I ride, he’s right there with me."

Jon Faerber, of Piscataway, said he doesn’t belong to a bike club, but that he has been riding for about 20 years. And for six of those years, he’s made the Dollars for Danielle bike run.

"We do this run every year since John started it," Faerber said. "We wouldn’t miss it for the world."

Perricone said she would accept donations for the Stephanie Santonastaso Fund through September. Contributions may be sent to: Dollars for Danielle c/o Karen Perricone, 115 Martin Terrace, Woodbridge, NJ 07095.