CAPE MAY — From May to September, the highways teem with vacationers whizzing through the Garden State for a spot on the beach in their favorite shore town. They hop along barrier islands, through marshes and Pine Barrens, cars packed too tight with beach chairs and coolers.
This spring, one man is taking the slow way to Cape May: a 165 mile bike trip from Montclair Township.
Bill Zuppa planned to make the trek June 8 to raise money for a child with special needs at Piscataway Regional Day School.
“It’s a long day in the saddle,” said Zuppa, 68, who has completed a ride of this distance or longer each year since 1996. “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to help out these kids, I’m just doing what I do.”
The Georgie Caunt Memorial Ride is in its 30th year, and according to Zuppa the rides have covered more than 11,000 miles and raised more than $167,000 in the form of small donations from friends, family, colleagues and anyone else who wants to pitch in for children with special needs.
Zuppa estimates that the fundraiser brings in between $2,000 and $8,000 per year, and a faculty member at the school added that the last three years have seen donations in excess of $6,000. Zuppa, also known as “One Man,” named the fundraiser “OneManOneBikeOneChild.”
The idea first came in 1996, a year after Zuppa bid farewell to his nephew Georgie, who passed away at the age of 14 from complications related to cerebral palsy.
“He was always the happiest kid you could imagine. Being non-verbal, he had no way to communicate that, but every time I saw him he was just a happy kid.”
He said the individual support Georgie received from the Piscataway Regional Day School (PRDS) inspired a unique approach to donating the money he’s raised. Instead of donating the sum to the school directly to be spent on renovations or new programs, Zuppa chose to use all of the funds raised each year to improve the experience of one child and their family.
“I figured what’s going to have the most impact is helping one other person,” he said.
Over the years, the money has gone to families experiencing a variety of difficult situations. According to Zuppa, some families have used the money for secure housing, recovery from fires or floods, dream vacations and even hearing aids for their child.
PRDS gathers a committee of abound 12 consisting of case workers, educators, health professionals and other faculty to meet each year to discuss and select which child can most use the donations from Zuppa’s fundraiser.
“It’s almost a miracle to see every year how it transforms a family that never really felt cared about. They feel so special to be chosen and given this opportunity to do something that they normally wouldn’t ever think to do,” said Debbie Bussiere, a caseworker at the school. “It’s such a hard thing to be on that committee because you want to give it to everyone.”
Bussiere said that the ceremony during which Zuppa presents the family with the check from the ride’s donations is one of the highlights of her year. She thinks highly of Zuppa and his work with the Georgie Memorial Rides, and emphasized the number of families helped over the decades-long life of the tradition.
Over the past 29 years of Georgie Rides, Zuppa cycled through 25 states and summited 22 mountains, including Whitney, Mansfield, Washington, Bluesky and Clark’s Peak. He has repeated this year’s route from Montclair to Cape May more than any other, including the first Georgie Memorial Ride in September 1996.
“I’d never been to Cape May before, even though I lived in New Jersey my whole life. I was going to turn 40 that summer, in July, and I decided to celebrate doing the first Georgie Ride,” Zuppa said.
That first ride was particularly difficult. After being hit by a car in early summer 1996 during training, Zuppa postponed his ride to September. But that presented new challenges, as Hurricane Fran made its way up the East Coast, sending strong winds and sweltering humidity to New Jersey.
“I was just by myself pedaling down here through the middle of the state, coming down to Cape May. I got hit with 20 mph winds from the south. It was pretty brutal.”
Zuppa made it to the Cape May Lighthouse that day without any outside support for gear or sustenance.
“That first ride was just nothing but pain; I could barely walk up the steps to my bed and breakfast, Poor Richards.”
Although we won’t know this year’s fundraising total until Zuppa presents the check this fall, he’s ready for yet another successful ride to support a New Jersey child and his or her family.
“It was a tough ride with a couple problems, but in the end, charitable mission accomplished once again,” Zuppa said, adding that he was looking forward to “hanging out in beautiful Cape May. It’s just fantastic, going out to dinner, going to the beach. I love it.”
By J. CAV SCOTT/For the Star and Wave
