Bikers donate toys in charity drive

Published: November 28, 2005 | 2848th good news item since 2003

The annual ‘Toy Run!’ charity event took place all over the country on Sunday as motorcyclists took to the streets with teddy bears of all shape and sizes securely strapped to their bikes.

According to the Cape Times an estimated 13 000 bikers in Cape Town alone took part in the national event to collect toys for underprivileged children.

Now in its 23rd year, the ‘Toy Run!’ was started by a group of 15 motorcyclists from an Italian bikers’ club who decided to take toys to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. [The Biker Code: Wisdom for the Ride]

Mike Clark, a public relations officer of the ‘Toy Run!’ Trust said the event had grown a lot this year because there were two starting venues.

Bikers rode from the Ratanga Junction parking area and others started at Ottery Hypermarket, meeting up on Settlers Way and ending up in Maynardville to drop off their donations.

Clark told the Cape Times that the toys would be distributed during the Christmas period to disadvantaged children up to the age of 18 at various hospitals, homes and orphanages.

Participating in his 10th ‘Toy Run!’, Western Cape Cruisers motorcycle club president Willy Sharpe said: “We’re always doing it because it’s for the needy. It’s nice to see people get together.”

Another Cape Town biker, Franz Gouws told the paper that said it was his sixth time in the event and that he loved “the fellowship of the event and the fact that it’s got to do with the kids”.

The ‘Toy Run!’ is apparently also held to improve the way communities view motorcyclists.

“Motorcycling is growing very fast in South Africa and that’s why we need to boost the image of bikers”, Said Clark. [Help! They're All Out to Get Me! : The Motorcyclist's Guide to Surviving the Everyday World]

He added that it appeared as though all motorcyclists arrived safely and “there was excellent cooperation from the Cape Town traffic authorities”.

Published in Charity
See also: iafrica.com