LAGUNA BEACH – Though he'd probably be riding his motorcycle anyway this summer, Dave Rusk has turned his hobby into a mission – to help kids with cancer.
The Laguna Beach County Water District employee and Lake Elsinore resident is gearing up for his second Ride for Wishes benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Rusk, whose nephew, Dylan, is in remission from leukemia, will ride his motorcycle from Orange County to New York, stopping in as many Wish houses along the way as possible. The roughly 2,700-mile ride will be tough, 47-year-old Rusk admits, but he hopes it will draw attention to Make-A-Wish's good work.
Dave Rusk sits on his motorcycle with nephew Dylan before last year's Ride for Wishes from Orange County to Alaska.
MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In 2007, while Dylan battled cancer, the foundation granted his wish to be a sheriff's deputy for a day. The experience cheered the boy, then 7, while the harsh drugs did their work to eradicate the disease.
"The emotional side of it is really where these kids get a lot of help from these wishes," Rusk said. "Their families too."
Dylan's father, Rusk's brother, would later die from leukemia himself. The first Ride for Wishes was born from the Rusk brothers' dream to ride to Alaska together one day. Dave Rusk completed that trip alone last summer, asking for donations to grant more children's wishes. He raised more than $7,000.
Rusk pays his own expenses for the rides, so all donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire. Checks can be mailed to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire, 14232 Red Hill Ave., Tustin, CA 92780. Add Ride for Wishes in the memo line.
This year's ride will begin July 3. Follow Rusk's progress online at rideforwishes.blogspot.com.
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