The spirit of the holiday season has been ignited with help from the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group and Orange County Harley-Davidson, who are organizing a community toy drive to benefit CHOC Children’s. For the past 15 years, the group has traditionally delivered, courtesy of thousands of Harley-Davidson bikers, truck loads of toys to the hospital on Christmas Eve. However, due to construction on CHOC’s Orange campus, the ride won’t be able to make its annual stop at the hospital. Organizers did not want patients to be without toys and decided to transform their ride into a community toy drive, encouraging Southern California residents to participate in this incredible demonstration of holiday spirit.
Anyone interested in donating new, unwrapped toys or gift cards can deliver them, from December 11 – December 23, to the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership, located at 8677 Research Dr., in Irvine. The dealership will provide a pancake breakfast to anyone who drops off donations on Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. For the hospital’s "wish list," please visit www.choc.org and click on "Give to CHOC," followed by "Ways to Help."
"We are so grateful to Orange Coast Harley Owners Group and the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership for their ongoing commitment to deliver toys to CHOC that extend the holiday season beyond December. These toys are given year-round to patients, who often spend weeks or months inside the hospital," explains CHOC Child Life Manager Emily Grankowski. "The toys are used as therapeutic play to help our patients adjust to their hospitalization. They enable us to further develop the children’s self-esteem and other social skills, while creating a positive experience."
Individuals and other groups who have donated to CHOC during the holiday season are encouraged to join efforts with the Harley Owners Group and drop off their toys at the Orange County Harley-Davidson dealership instead of the hospital, due to campus construction. Anyone with questions about the Harley Toy Drive can email the Orange Coast Harley Owners Group at director@ochog.org.
