The Closer to Free Ride Day is on Sept. 9 and on that day, not only will more than 1,000 riders take to the streets, but there will be a lot of volunteers out there helping them along the way.
“One of our core values is community service and giving back to those in need,” said Jennifer Raccio, the director of student experience and engagement at Sacred Heart Academy.
That’s why when Raccio joined the staff, she knew the Closer to Free Ride would be a perfect fit for the students.
“It would just be a great feel-good opportunity for them, but also give them an opportunity to see where their friends and family have been treated, and why it's so important to this community that Smilow thrives,” Raccio said.
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This will be her fifth year in the Closer to Free Ride on Team Diesel Destroyers – a group of about 10 family and friends.
She also started the Sacred Heart Academy Sharks team so students can volunteer at the first rest stop on ride day, supporting a key life lesson shared at the school.
“Giving back and participating in community service is a lifelong opportunity that it doesn't just stop when you graduate from here, that it's something that they take with them throughout the rest of their lives,” Raccio said.
Sister Sheila O’Neill is the president of Sacred Heart Academy and she was all-in for the volunteer opportunity for the girls. It’s been five years since she was treated for melanoma at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
The cancer was discovered below her right eye, and she’s amazed at how they removed it.
“So they took my upper eyelid actually and wrapped it around,” O’Neill said. “So, all of the skin underneath my eye is really my eyelid.”
She tells us that she lost two sisters to cancer and has two brothers who survived.
“And so, when I got that diagnosis, I was really, really scared. But because of the care I received there, I just placed my trust in God, and I placed my trust in Yale and I could not have been happier with the treatment,” O’Neill said.
Raccio and O’Neill believe that by knowing the sister’s story, and hearing thousands more like it on ride day, it could mean more to the girls than simply meeting a volunteer requirement.
“Sometimes you don't realize how important, or the impact that it has on you in your life, until you get in it and be a part of it,” Raccio said.
And with all of the money going to Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center for treatment, research and survivors like Sheila, they hope this will be the first of many years supporting the Closer to Free Ride.
“I think Smilow is doing so many wonderful things,” O’Neill said. “And whatever little piece we can do to be a part of helping other people is so important to me, personally, and to the mission of the school.”
