By Michael Marino

One of the best things about being a motorcycle rider, on-road or off-road, is that there are so many ways to use riding, rallying or racing to benefit charities.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists across the nation saddle up to support charitable causes, some of which affect them personally.

Here are four examples of 2019 motorcycling events that made a difference.

2019 Flood Run

(Minnesota/Wisconsin)

One charity ride, named the Flood Run, traces its roots to a small group of motorcyclists who rode to battle a natural disaster.

Dana Anderson, who helps coordinate the event, said a group of 12 motorcyclists rode to Winona, Minn., in April 1965 to help with sandbagging during a Mississippi River flood event. In 1970, the group recreated their 1965 ride as a charity run, and it was named the Winona Flood Run (later shortened to the Flood Run).

Two Flood Runs are held each year. The spring ride takes place on the third weekend in April, and the fall ride on the third weekend in September.

Anderson said the original ride was about 90 miles from the Twin Cities metro to Winona. Today, riders have the option of riding U.S. Route 61 on the west side of the Mississippi River, Wisconsin state route 35 on the east side of the river or the “Gold Star” 218-mile route that crosses the river at Winona.

The event has grown from the original 12 riders to about 1,000 official participants for each ride.

The events get started in the morning at Beach Bar and Grill in St. Croix Beach, Minn., where riders buy wristbands and event merchandise, get breakfast, then start the ride.

All money received through merchandise and wristband sales is donated to Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minn. A foundation affiliated with the Indian Motorcycle Co. funds the event.

The Flood Run began supporting veterans’ charities in 2018, when the proceeds from a dollar raffle were donated to Soldier 6, which provides service animals for military and police personnel. For the Spring 2019 event, money collected from the event’s motorcycle raffle was donated to Operation 23 to Zero, which works to reduce the number of veterans’ suicides.

Anderson estimates the event has raised about $1 million for charity since 1970. The event generated about $40,000 in 2018, and about $26,000 at the 2019 Spring Flood Run.

In 2018, Indian Motorcycle became the event title sponsor, and the ride became AMA-sanctioned.

Anderson credits the event’s success to the group of volunteers who help put on the Flood Run, but notes the difficulty in finding enough volunteer help to staff a large event.

Beginning in 2018, several groups have “adopted” booths along the route or taken on responsibility for other functions.

Another challenge is the weather.

“Although the weather is always a factor for a motorcycle event, April in Minnesota can mean snow,” Anderson pointed out. “One run in the early 2000s had 12 people show up because it snowed that day.”

Anderson’s advice to other individuals and clubs considering a charity ride is to exercise patience.

“It can take several years to get word out about an event, so many events start smaller,” she said.

Anderson also recommends choosing a large, general charity and building partnerships with other organizations that can provide access to lots of volunteers and marketing help.

Another recommendation that Anderson has for success is to become an AMA-sanctioned event.

“Partnering with the AMA is worth it,” she said. “Event insurance through the AMA is much more realistic than getting insurance any other way.”

Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Ride for Kids

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is a charitable organization that got its start as a one-off charity motorcycle ride, the Ride For Kids, in Atlanta. That first ride in 1984 raised $4,000 for pediatric brain tumor research, and eventually spawned the nonprofit foundation that organizes dozens of Ride for Kids events across the nation each year.

The first Ride for Kids event in Asheville, N.C., which also happens to be the home for the PBTF, took place in 1994.

Suzette Grindstaff, campaign manager for the Asheville ride, said this year’s ride on Aug. 24 raised about $32,000 in donations through Sept. 30.

The Asheville ride has raised more than $2 million since its inception.

Grindstaff said about 110 riders, including “Stars” (children and teenagers living with brain tumors and survivors of brain tumors) and their families participated in the event.

She said the on-road route gets changed regularly and uses portions of the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs along the east and south sides of the Asheville metro area.

The Asheville Ride for Kids also added a dual sport component to its program in 2018.

The Stars aren’t just at the event to cheer riders on. They also get to go riding.

“Stars look forward to this event all year long,” Grindstaff said. “Being able to ride on a motorcycle [or in a sidecar] is a thrill for them, therapy for them and something they never get to do otherwise. It takes their minds off the cancer and all the tests and lets them enjoy themselves.”

The events do more than simply raise money for research.

Grandstaff said Stars are given an opportunity to share their stories, some of which are positive and others that are difficult to fathom.

Like other motorcycle events, weather can play a big role in event attendance.

“This year we had way less than half the [typical number of] bikes show up, due to the weather,” Grindstaff said. “We believe that our Stars go through cancer whether or not it is raining or the sun is shining, so we go on with the event, rain or shine. We have canceled a few, but those were due to emergencies, such as hurricanes.”

Grindstaff recommends that those considering putting on their own motorcycle charity event start by getting chartered with the AMA to gain credibility and access to affordable event insurance.

 

SoCal Dual Sport & Adventure Ride for Kids

Some Ride for Kids events try to stay off pavement, such as the SoCal Dual Sport & Adventure Ride for Kids.

The annual event takes place in southern California, using Glen Helen Raceway as its staging ground. The 2019 edition took place on April 13.

AMA Charter Life Member and SoCal Ride for Kids Task Force Leader Paul Flanders said this year’s event had about 260 participants and raised about $47,000.

Flanders said the SoCal event was spearheaded in 1993 by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bruce Ogilvie (d. 2009). Ogilvie worked with the AMA District 37 dual sport group to organize the first event, which took place at the Honda Rider Education Center in Colton, Calif.

Flanders said the event has raised about $1 million since the first ride in 1994.

After two years of the Ride for Kids route running by Glen Helen Raceway, the group asked the track’s management if they could start and finish the ride there instead.

The raceway offered the group use of the facility free of charge, and it has been held there ever since.

Like most motorcycle events, the SoCal Ride for Kids has had challenges.

“A forest fire closed most of the routes that we had planned to use one year,” Flanders said. “So, the ride was moved to a place near Gorman, Calif.”

Flanders recommends taking the time to plan a fun route, which will keep participants coming back year after year.

new hampshire charities at Laconia

Motorcycle Week

Motorcycle rallies aren’t just for scenic riding, vendors and concerts. They’re also perfect places to raise funds for charity.

Take the Laconia Motorcycle Week, for instance. The annual rally in Laconia, N.H., which bills itself as America’s oldest motorcycle rally and is an AMA National Gypsy Tour, hosts several charity events.

Charlie St. Clair, executive director of Laconia Motorcycle Week, said charity has been a part of the Laconia rally since at least the 1960s, when fundraising rides were put on for the benefit of the Laconia hospital and local veterans groups, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jennifer Anderson, deputy director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week, said 11 organizations have regularly worked with the rally in recent years to put on charity rides or other events.

Among the rally’s annual charity events is the Peter Makris Memorial Ride. The police-escorted ride features hundreds of participants and raises money for a variety of charities.

The 13th edition of the ride took place in 2019, and Anderson said it has raised more than $400,000 in the past 10 years.

Organizations that have raised money at Laconia Motorcycle Week include the New Hampshire Humane Society ($10,000 raised per year since 2013), the Laconia Rotary Club ($35,000 per year for more than 20 years) and the Weirs Action Committee ($20,000 per year for more than 20 years).

 

Ride for the Children Los Angeles Motorcyclists help abused, neglected children

Olive Crest is a 45-year-old nonprofit that provides care for abused and neglected children at eight locations. The organization hosts the “Ride for the Children” to raise money to continue its work.

Perry King, an AMA Charter Life Member and former member of the AMA Board of Directors, has been involved with Olive Crest for about 35 years.

“I fell in love when them when I visited to learn more about caring for abused and neglected children, back in the mid-’80s when I was doing a TV show called ‘Riptide,’” King said. “They asked me to help on a fundraiser when I was looking for one excellent charity to give my time to.

“It was so powerful to meet these little children they were caring for, who seemed so healthy and solid, and then to learn why they were there,” King said. “I decided right then I was sticking with them for good, as long as they wanted me to.”

King has been the national spokesman for Olive Crest for three decades. He also serves on the board of directors for the Los Angeles site.

“I now know many dozens of fine young adults who tell me that, without Olive Crest as their surrogate home, they would be in prison or a drug addict or a prostitute—or dead,” he said.

At any given time, Olive Crest is working with—and sometimes completely caring for—about 3,000 children.

“The ride and anything we raise is just a drop in the bucket, of course,” he said. “It’s only our second year, and, of course, we hope it grows each year.”

The need for Olive Crest’s services keeps growing, as well.

“There are many events, and many volunteers, so each year we get through it, and Olive Crest keeps going, and growing to meet the need,” King said. “They say ‘One Life at a Time,’ and they mean it. ”

 

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We need your help

While AMA-sanctioned events and AMA-chartered organizers donate millions of dollars each year for charitable causes, precise figures are not available.

When you host a charity event or simply donate to a charity throughout the year, please let the AMA know the amount of money raised and the names of the organization(s) that received the money.

This information can help the AMA demonstrate the positive impact of motorcycling on communities and constituents to elected and appointed officials.

Please take just a few minutes to report your contributions for 2019 at https://tinyurl.com/y5rqe77f.

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