TOY RUNS
Toy runs are one of the motorcycle events I get the most enjoyment out of. A successful toy run is a lot of fun and helps to provide a happier Christmas season to children who might otherwise have NOTHING.
The first toy run I ever went on was in El Centro California. It was put on by ABATE of California local #38. We started off by lining up all the bikes and leading off the town's Christmas parade. That was really fun. Whoever managed to get the message across to the city fathers that it is hard on the bikes to slip clutches and idle behind slower horses, floats, etc did a really good thing. It made for an enjoyable parade experience for us. I have been in parades with my bike where we were overheating bikes from idling too long, burning up clutches and cramping up our hands from holding it so long. This was wonderful.
After the parade we blasted off across the way to the local state orphanage. It was amazing to see the kids get more and more excited as biker after biker came walking in caring arm loads of toys and piling them in the middle of the big play room. I really remember one little guy who picked one of the smallest toys and guarded it like he was afraid somebody was going to belt him and take it away from him. I ain't much of a fighter these days. I'll back up before I'll fight now that I'm a little older, but I'm a tough guy, and I cried. I was a little embarrassed by it but when I looked around the room I could see guys ten times tougher than me choking back tears. Thats what a toy run is all about.
Most places you won't get to meet the kids that benefit from your efforts, but remember that they are the ones it is ultimatley for.
My HOG club puts on a toy run every year here in Yuma, Az that is a great lot of fun. We donate the net proceeds to the Saquaro Foundation and Migrant Headstart. We have a nice bike parade across town and finish up at the park below the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Site. The last several years our city mayor has ridden out with us on the back of the bike with whoever is dressed as Santa this year and leads off our parade. We have beer and raffle prizes galore. There is a big barbecue and the guy who cooks has such a good reputation that if there is any meat leftover (rarely) we auction it off with a lot of other stuff. We make a big pile of toys and when its all over we load them in pickup trucks for the local charities to distribute to needy families and foster children in the area. Our local toy run isn't the big tear jerker that the one I wrote about first is, but I still get a little choked up when I think why we are doing this.
You don't have to be a hard core biker. You don't even have to ride a motorcycle. You don't have to throw out a lot of money or buy a ton of expensive stuff to give away. Just bring a nice toy to a toy run and remember the little guys who don't have anything. Your toy will be everything in the world to some poor boy or girl who ain't got shit. Besides you'l have a good time AND feel good about yourself.
