Olivia Yates
thecalifornian.com
Motorcycles and teddy bears don’t seem to go together. But underneath the tough exterior of a motorcyclist is often a teddy bear-soft heart that wants to help kids in need.
For Kinship Center, a Salinas-based nonprofit that finds safe, permanent homes for kids coming from violence, abuse and neglect, these riders can be the most generous of angels in disguise.
“There’s probably no child who wouldn’t love to be perched on a real, live motorcycle, but for children who have had so many negative experiences with the adults in their lives, it’s even more special,” said Carol Bishop, Kinship Center’s executive vice president. “We appreciate not just the donations we’ve received from motorcycle clubs in several communities, but the time they take to be with our kids.”
One such group is the Thunder Riders Motorcycle Club, a family-oriented organization with members in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. For five years, members have generously supported Kinship Center’s Monterey County “Family Ties” program, which provides help to relatives (usually grandmas) who have unexpectedly taken on the care of children whose parents are in prison, on drugs or otherwise not present.
Donations from the club have helped with some critical needs, and each year, club members help underwrite a special outdoor day for children in the program, showing up in force to give young participants a thrilling up-close-and-personal motorcycle experience.
“We couldn’t do the work we do for children and families without help from the community,” Bishop said. “We’re very grateful to these angels on wheels!”
Elsewhere, an annual spring “Teddy Bear Ride” fundraiser organized by a Kinship Center volunteer group in Orange County brings dozens of bikers on sport bikes, old-school bikes and everything in between out in force for a 100-mile ride through scenic countryside and avocado groves, with a stop at “Hell’s Kitchen” for a game of skill to add excitement and bring in more dollars. The triumphant finish includes food, music, an auction, and prizes for all who have dedicated a day and plenty of energy to helping kids.
And — oh yes — an extra price of admission for every participant is a new teddy bear for a child.