KAILUA-KONA — Close to 200 motorcycles and about a dozen hot rods and classic cars rang in the holiday season with a roar Saturday morning as clubs and enthusiasts came together from throughout the island with one common goal: supporting the island’s keiki in need.
For 23 years now, the island’s motorcycle community has come together, many wearing Santa hats and with toys strapped to their bikes, as part of an effort to collect gifts that will benefit Toys for Tots.
“We’re going to make somebody’s Christmas a lot brighter,” said Dexter Chaves, Big Island president of Hui Maka‘i Motorcycle Club.
Every year, the U.S Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program collects new, unwrapped toys for children in need nationwide. There are campaigns in almost 800 communities in each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Those campaigns also include motorcycle parades, collecting in some cases tens of thousands of toys for children in the local communities. An annual Toy Run in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, regularly collects more than 30,000 items to be distributed through Toys for Tots to benefit children in northeastern Oklahoma, according to a Tulsa newspaper.
Chaves said everybody that comes to these events brings a toy or donates money that can go toward buying more gifts. Distribution, he added, is taken care of by Hawaii Electric Light Co.
And the participation of the island’s motorcycle clubs and riders, Chaves added, shows the community consists of “some of the most generous people out there.”
“You make an event like this, and they come,” he said.
Many of those who came out for Saturday’s ride have been taking part in the event for years, such as Bryan Oakley, head of sales at Big Island Harley-Davidson, who offered a common refrain heard throughout the day: “It’s about the kids.”
Oakley said he grew up poor, so this sort of event takes him back to his childhood.
“And I don’t have any children of my own,” he added, “so it feels good to give; we all know that.”
And the sight of close to 200 motorcycles coming up the road with toys strapped to them “definitely brings a lot of eyeball to the situation.”
“It definitely brings a lot of attention,” he added. “It’s so important, and it also kinda kicks off the spirit of the holiday season.”
Other long-time participants included Joreen Knox and Ryan Simpson, who have been coming out to the event for the past 16 years in a row.
“Just a good thing to do,” said Simpson. “Give to the kids, give back to the community.”
Knox said she believes the event’s an important one for the community, particularly the way it gets people together behind a common cause to help youth in the community.
“No matter who you are or what walk of life you come from, you’re all getting together for a day of no politics,” she said.
She and Simpson also said they hope the event helps take some of the stress of the holidays off families who might not be able to afford to do certain things.
“And we can,” added Simpson. “So we want to help.”
Chaves, too, said the annual event is a good opportunity for the community to give back.
“It’s just to help out people less fortunate,” he said. “We take for granted a lot of times that we have things.
“You know, we have Christmas; we have what we need. There are a lot of families out there that don’t,” he added. “Any small way we can fill that gap or fill the need, we’re gonna try.”
And aside from the joy that comes from helping others, attendees also said the ride is a great opportunity to get together with friends and acquaintances they might not otherwise see.
“I see friends at this event a lot of times just once a year, just at this event,” Chaves said. “So seeing all the friends and the people that support what we’re doing, it’s an awesome feeling to see people giving up their time, their Saturday to come support Toys for Tots.”