HELPING CHILDREN IN NEED.
JOIN THE ANNUAL CHIANG MAI TOYRIDE - HAVE FUN - MAKE CHILDREN
HAPPY
Motorcycle toy rides are popular with bikers the world over. We
motorcyclists love life, freedom & riding our bikes. Indeed, we are
fortunate to be alive & enjoying life riding the Golden Triangle. But we
also see children not so privileged & able to enjoy life as much as us
happy bikers. So we like to put something back & help children of North Thailand / The Golden Triangle.
PUTTING SMILES ON FACES
- HIV Children
- Orphaned Children
- Hill Tribe Children
- A Child in Need...
Donations
All funds raised will be distributed
by the ToyRide committee through the nonprofit
Give and Live at other events throughout the year at these tentative
venues: 1) children’s cancer, HIV and acute care wards at Chiang Mai’s
Maharaj Government Hospital with exceptional facilities for low income
or impoverished families; 2) less-fortunate children near the city of
Chiang Dao; and 3) a poor Lisu or Lahu village in the north near
Sappong. We’re trying to focus on needy children who are “under the
radar” because of their remote locations – folks that haven’t been
helped by other charitable organizations.
(Financial Statements ).
There are two
more mini Toy Ride donation events
being planned for this year.
The first is Samoeng, Sunday
18th May
2008.
The 2nd is Chiang Dao, to be
announced.
Visit our most
recent "Buddy" event at Maharaj Hospital, click here!
Future
Events! (See our Events page for
more info..)
We’re already planning next year’s
bigger and better Chiang Mai ToyRide. Mark your calendar today for
future fun and giving on Sunday, 4 Jan 2009!
A big Thank You to everyone who attended ToyRide 2008
In November 2008, Robert Straghan first put forward the idea for the ride that
did not include a set date, a logo or an organization to handle the
event. He did, however, have an overdeveloped heart and soon a committee
was formed. The committee all had a dream: to give toys and stuffed
animals to disadvantaged children. Everybody needs a buddy. Somehow we
all pulled it together and had a grand event, although two months ago,
Robert was 50-something and today he’s at least 60-something.
About 160 bikes of all sizes, though heavy
in the big bike category, met at Tesco Khamtien at 10 a.m. to begin the
Toy Ride around the moat, around the Samoeng loop
(map of the route) and finally gathering
at Huay Tung Tao Lake for an afternoon of food, music, festivities,
games and most importantly, a presentation of toys to children from two
local orphanages: Ponsawan Community Development Center in Sansai and
Children’s Garden orphanage near Doi Saket. The only requirement for
participation was for everyone to bring a new toy and deposit it on the
burgeoning pile of bears, trucks, dolls and games, that continued to
grow along with the kids’ eyes with visions of which toy might be
theirs. The park was filled with celebrities: Santa rode in, Spiderman
lurked on a Harley, and the Pink Panther gave the audience a respectful
wai. Everyone was in a spirited mood while circulating through the
vendors, marveling at Joker Man the Clown’s balloon artistry, chowing
down on the complementary food donated by the Imperial Mae Ping,
checking out the live music on stage and watching a hyperactive
two-year-old snatching stuffed animals larger than her from the pile.
Certainly the highlight of the afternoon was when all the kids
finally got to approach the toys just before they actually exploded with
excitement, and though we tried to organize it orderly by age, soon they
all dived in. A couple of the first littlest kids choose the biggest
stuffed animals that were a few centimeters taller than Robert. The
aforementioned two-year-old literally did dive in, swimming through the
toys doing the Australian crawl and the Thai backstroke, while flinging
toys into the air with reckless abandon. Her life will be downhill from
that moment of complete joy, a joy that transferred to the hearts of
everyone watching.
Some 200 bikes came to the lake and more than 300 folks partied till
5 p.m. including the 70 orphans and their caretakers. No one counted the
toys, but there were plenty left for another presentation event with an
ice cream truck, soda, Joker Man, toy presentation and thumb wrestling
tournament at the Girls’ Home at Vieng Ping orphanage on Saturday,
January 12th for National Children’s Day. Through personal donations,
vendor support and business sponsorships such as Harley Davidson
Bangkok, Tesco Lotus, Discovery Moto Tours and Richco Motorsports, we
raised an additional 150,000 baht, which will soon renovate larger
playground equipment in desperate need of repair at Vieng Ping as well
as fund more toys for the kids at the Boys’ Home and for lonely children
in area hospitals. The funds and toy presentation events are handled by
the nonprofit Give and Live, which matched donations up to a total of
20,000 baht.
We would like to give a special thank you to the
following;
-
The Imperial Mae Ping Hotel for providing catering
for the children and guests. A special thank you to Nick Bauer
(General Manager) for his help and advice in organising this event.
-
Mama and Papa, John and Lois, Matt, Frank for their
help on the day.
-
GT-Rider for providing a free Samoeng Loop Map to
every rider.
