Harley Davidson motorcyclists make trip to Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA for 21st annual toy run
John Terpy lets patient Xavier Owens, 7, sit on his motorcycle. Sunday was the 21st annual Harley toy run at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital in which Harley Davidson motorcyclists delivered toys to child patients at the hospital.
By Allan Suwito
Nov. 22, 2010 2:00 a.m.
Participants at the 21st annual Harley toy run create a “love line” to bring donated toys from the delivery truck into UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital.
For the last 21 years, Harley Davidson motorcyclists have ridden their bikes up from Fullerton to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital to donate toys to child patients around the holidays.
The event has garnered more than 100 bikers in the past, but this year only nine showed up on Sunday because of heavy rain. About 10 more drove to the event in their cars.
Hospital staff members greeted the riders and took pictures to put into greeting cards for the children. A couple of children climbed onto a motorcycle that one of the riders had brought into the hospital to show off.
In previous years, riders used to be able to roll their bikes down the hallways and bring them to the rooms of the children who were unable to come down and see the bikes themselves.
However, in recent years, this has not happened because moving bikes around the hospital is considered a fire hazard.
By 10 a.m., the riders had formed a “love line,” a human conveyor belt from the toy truck to a table to bring in the many gifts that had been donated by members of the Harley Owners Group.
Once all the toys were brought in, attendees gathered for a thank-you speech by hospital administrators and staff.
Harley Davidson riders, who typically conjure up images of rough and tough bikers, are really just people who ride recreationally on some weekends, ride leader Rudy Eberly said.
The hospital was initially reluctant to host the first toy drive for the group when event founder Joyce Savisky-Chance approached it with the idea in 1989 because of the rough rider image, Savisky-Chance said.
Eberly said seeing the children smile is a worthwhile experience.
“They are down on their luck, and this helps lift up their spirits,” he said.
This is only one of many charitable events the Harley Owners Group is involved in. Riders also participate in other toy drives and volunteer for women and children abuse centers.
The toy drive was first started 21 years ago by Savisky-Chance in honor of her son, Johnnie, who died of kidney cancer after being admitted to the Mattel Children’s Hospital.
The drive is a memorial and tribute to Johnnie, said Rick Harrison, a doctor of pediatric critical care medicine at Mattel Children’s Hospital.
Savisky-Chance said she created the toy drive as a means of giving back to the UCLA hospital and as a way to thank them for all its efforts in trying to save her son. At the time, her husband was part of the Fullerton chapter of the Harley Owners Group, which has participated in other toy drives. This led her to think about something that could be done for the hospital as well.
Every year, Eberly begins collecting toys as early as summer, with the majority of donations coming from the chapter members.
The presents are then distributed by the Child Life Program, which distributes toys throughout the year to children to make their time in the hospital more enjoyable and a more normal experience.
“(The Child Life Program) lets kids be kids,” said Amy Bullock, the director of the Child Life Program.
Sunday’s event also helps support the Parent’s Shopping Mall, which runs to the end of December. The Shopping Mall allows parents who do not have time or funds to shop for free.
The program is always in need of toy donations throughout the year to keep providing toys to the children for birthdays and other special events, Bullock said.
