SHERBURNE – More than 100 bikers rolled into Gilligan’s Restaurant in Sherburne on Wednesday – a sure sign of an early start of the summer season as the ninth annual Bike Night and Cruise-In got underway.

Every Wednesday throughout the summer, Bike Night at Gilligan’s welcomes hundreds of bikers and classic car enthusiasts from all over the area show off their ride while also helping to raise money for a good cause. Funds raised through a weekly 50/50 raffle, individual contributions and vendor sales at Bike Night are donated to cancer patients who are undergoing treatment and in need of financial assistance to foot the fuel expenses of regular trips to cancer treatment centers.

The event – sponsored by the local chapter of the Patriot Guard Riders of New York, Sherburne Wheelers, and Nam Knights Liberty Chapter – has become a staple in downtown Sherburne, proving that good things can happen when a private business teams up with nonprofit organizations.

“We started Bike Night because we realized that there was a need for a local bike night,” said Donna Danyluk, Sherburne Bike Night coordinator and member of the Patriot Guard Riders group. “As time went on, we also felt that we needed a cause.”

Danyluk explained that money raised through raffle ticket sales at Bike Night is earmarked to help cancer patients with travel expenses. To date, the event has resulted in a total 253 $100 gas cards being given to cancer survivors throughout that area and as far as Florida, Texas, Indiana, Virgina, West Virginia and Long Island. “The reason we do that is if someone comes to Bike Night and participates in the 50/50 raffle, they might have a cousin in another state who is battling cancer,” Danyluk said. “And we will help them because they have helped us here.”

Additional support comes from vendors who set up at Bike Night, she added. “My daughter sells jewelry here, too, and 50 percent of those sales go toward Relay for Life.”