After nearly five years, Amador STARS will be leaving its current office in the 600 block of Jackson's Court Street. The destination remains unknown as the organization seeks affordable options, preferably in Jackson or Sutter Creek. Photo by: Raheem Hosseini Amador STARS volunteer director Ginger Rolf says the group has about $500 a month to spend on a new office location. Photo by: Raheem Hosseini

The gray paint on the wood-paneled home is flecked with age, but the building itself has stuck around longer than some thought it would.

Initially, it was supposed to be just a temporary headquarters for a fledgling community organization looking to branch off on its own. But for Amador STARS, the local cancer support group - STARS is an acronym for support, transportation and resource services - that got its start in 2004, home has been a trusty former duplex lined by a white picket fence on a quiet residential street in Jackson.

But all good things come to an end, and the structure's kindly landlords can no longer afford to rent out their property for the $300 a month STARS has been paying since it set up shop nearly five years ago.

"My wife and I believe in the STARS program," Paul Accinelli told the Ledger Dispatch. That's why, for the past four-and-a-half years, the couple has rented out the 2,350 square-foot residence for a fraction of its cost. The couple has been paying $1,100 a month to keep STARS in its current location, Accinelli explained. But the slowing of the construction and new home sales markets in which he works means the couple needs to seek out market rent for the house, which sits on more than an acre of land.

Ginger Rolf, Amador STARS' volunteer director, has nothing but kind words for the Accinellis, whom she credited with helping the organization steer most of its modest budget toward a variety of local services. "They're compassionate people," she said.

The initial plan was for STARS to operate out of the former duplex temporarily, while the Accinellis sought to develop the structure and its adjoining land into town homes. But city housing restrictions proved costly to navigate and "times were good," said Accinelli, so STARS was allowed to remain much longer than originally anticipated.

Even now, the Accinellis have expressed a willingness to be flexible with the two-month notice that would expire the beginning of March. "They'll let us stay a little longer if we need to," Rolf said, though the rent would probably increase a bit. "But the sooner we find a place, the better it is for us and for them."

Finding a new office may prove a little challenging. While both the county's new Health and Human Services building in Sutter Creek and the Martell Business Park are currently short on tenants, both are considerably out of STARS' price range, Rolf said.

Inquiries about rental offers the county would consider weren't immediately returned.

Rolf knows her organization has been lucky with its bargain basement rent these past several years, and she's hoping a little publicity will reveal comparable opportunities. "We're kind of hoping we don't have to go over 500 (dollars) a month," she said. "We're totally dependent on donations and one fundraiser (Camp Out for Cancer) a year."

What the organization raises from the community gets spent almost exclusively on free services for Amador County residents. There are modest operational costs and a small portion goes toward cancer research.

While the group's current space is a large one, Rolf said she and her fellow volunteers have modest needs. What they're looking for is "just a small office spot" in Jackson or Sutter Creek, large enough to comfortably house an average of 10 patients and a room for the part-time office manager, the organization's only paid employee. The rest of the staff is made up of volunteer board members and drivers, all of whom give their time freely. Aside from the free transport service, STARS also assists other support groups and offers a free wig program for women going through chemotherapy treatment.

"What we're about is serving the community and we've been lucky because the community wants it (to continue)," Rolf said.

The group's real estate needs also include parking for about 10 vehicles. STARS has four vans it uses to transport cancer patients to hospital appointments in the San Joaquin and Sacramento areas. Last year, the organization transported 165 patients to cancer-related medical treatment.

"I just hope someone can step up and is willing to step up," Accinelli said, referring to the commercial vacancies dotting the county. The couple has itself been touched by cancer, with a family member recently seeing a reemergence of the disease. "We have a good appreciation of what they do."

Rolf can be reached at 296-4042 or ginger@volcano.net.