The Blue Knights, WV-5, teamed up with the Roggenkamp family Saturday to host Rock and Roll for Wishes. The event encompassed a motorcycle poker run as well as a concert.

Avery Roggenkamp, a 2014 Make a Wish recipient, was on hand as the special guest at the event and rode in the procession that started the cyclists on their quest for poker chips. Roggenkamp is the daughter of Quintin and Robin Roggenkamp. She received a wish last year when the Blue Knights joined in to help raise funds to install a lift at the family’s swimming pool.

Born July 26, 2010, Avery and her twin sister Sienna Grace were four months premature. Sienna lived just 16 days and doctors told the Roggenkamps that it was likely Avery would not survive. However, after 184 days in the NICU at Fairfax Hospital, Avery was released. She has been diagnosed with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment and developmental delay. While she can’t walk, she loves to swim.

Quintin said Saturday that their wish last year for a wheelchair lift to get Avery in and out of the pool has been a blessing.

In organizing the Rock and Roll event, he shared that he and his family wanted to work toward providing resources for other Wish recipients.

“The average wish costs around $7,000,” Quintin said.

He went on to share that there are more Wish recipients in the Eastern Panhandle than anywhere else in the state.

“But there is only one recurring fundraiser in the area,” he said, referencing an annual golf event held at Locust Hill golf course each year.

Saturday’s poker run had motorcycle riders traveling from the Home Depot in Ranson in search of poker chips at four designated stops. Those stops extended through Jefferson County at the Food Way on Mission Road, into Purcellville, Virginia, at the Adroit Theory Brewing Company. Riders then backtracked to Neersville Fire Hall on Harpers Ferry Road to the commuter lot at Hillside before completing their run back at Home Depot. At each of the five stops, each participant selected a poker chip that had a number on it from one to 50.

Numbers on the chips were added up at the end to determine the “winner” of the run. Prizes were awarded to the top scorer, the scorer closing to 150 and to the rider who got the lowest number of points.

K.C. Bohrer, president of the Blue Knights, WV-5, explained that the group was all about raising funds for charities and for children.

“Avery is one of our family,” he said.

Bohrer said that the group will host Bike Night in Martinsburg on August 15, which raises funds for a variety of charities. This year’s primary recipient will be Hospice of the Eastern Panhandle.

Following the motorcycle run, three bands took to the stage to provide musical entertainment. Newfound Dead, Jagged Edge and Finding Dimes played, beginning at 1 p.m.

All proceeds from Saturday’s event will benefit West Virginia Make A Wish children and be used to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Quintin Roggencamp shared that those wishing to make donations to the Make A Wish Foundation can do so online at the Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia Make A Wish website. Referencing the Rock and Roll for Wishes event will guarantee that funds donated be allocated for the Eastern Panhandle.