Charity Dirt Bike Race aids Big Brothers-Big Sisters
Published: November 12, 2005
There is a little of everything for dirt bike riders, from creek crossings, to hill climbing to jumps, in the wooded 70-acre spread of land outside Oakley.
On Sunday, this site outside Oakley will host the 13th Annual Dirt Bike Race from noon to 3 p.m. to benefit local Big Brothers-Big Sisters programs.
The $10 entry fee for racers will be donated to the organization. Each person is also asked to bring a gift or toy for a child.
The race event sponsored by Dirtriders Inc. has donated about $30,000 to Big Brothers-Big Sisters over the years, said Steve Schollmeier, a member of the dirt bike club and former motocross racer. Now he watches his own teenagers ride dirt bikes.
John Gepford, treasurer of Dirtriders Inc., said if the weather is good, he is expecting more than 100 riders at the event. He said the event also helps to close out the dirt bike racing season and is a social event that brings people together.
Dirtriders Inc. first began raising money for Dove Inc. about 13 years ago. Then the money from racing events went to Dove and workers locked out at A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. in the mid 1990s.
In 1999, the dirt bike club started raising money for Big Brother-Big Sisters.
“It was all about helping out kids, and it’s been a great organization to work with,” Gepford said.
Most of the toys collected from the event will be part of the holiday party Big Brothers-Big Sisters plans to host for children in December.
“It’s a very important donation that the dirt bike event provides and helps give children a good holiday they might not otherwise have,” said Jeanne Stahlheber, executive director of Big Brothers-Big Sisters.
She said about 300 local children are served by the national youth mentoring program and are paired with an adult, yet 80 children remain on a waiting list.
About 40 percent of the boys and girls with Big Brothers-Big Sisters are African-American - less than 10 percent of adult mentors are African-American, Stahlheber said.
“We would like to see more volunteers, especially African-American males from the community step up and be role models,” she said.
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