South Florida Presidents Council Toys in the Sun Run
This year's event is scheduled for Sunday, December 6, 2009. Although Broward County Parks and Recreation is not the organizer of the event, the final destination for the parade of motorcycles is Markham Park. This is where the celebration and the collection of toys is located. As the event date gets closer, it's best to check the organizer's website for details: www.toysinthesunrun.com.
The following information is borrowed from an article written by Catherine "Katmandu" Palmer:
In 1987, the late Bob Amchir, then-president of the newly formed Wings of Gold Motorcycle Club, decided it might be better if all the smaller toy runs put all that energy towards creating one large event that everyone could attend and support. And Bob was not the kind of guy you said “No” to. The first Toys in the Sun Run netted $965 cash and 500 toys from the 700 motorcycles that showed up.
Since that inception, the Toys in the Sun Run and all its encircling events have steadily grown to the magnitude of a weekend-long biker run. Today there are 32 motorcycle clubs and numerous other motorcycle organizations that make this special event happen on an annual basis. Planning begins all over again when the last two wheels roll out of Markham Park; giving organizers 12 more months to bring the planet’s largest toy run to fruition.
Over 30,000 motorcycles participated in last year's event, and with the help of Broward and Dade County police agencies that included 22 departments and 230 police officers. They actually close down three major Interstates to ensure a safe motorcade parade.
The parade begins at the Isle Casino and Pompano Harness Track in Pompano Beach, Florida. The pack of motorcycles travels 26 miles to Broward County’s Markham Park. It takes approximately three hours to get all those bikes to the end of their ride. VIPs can shell out some extra cash to ride up front, which is a good idea, since rolling out of the track and into the park has been compared to that stroll down any Main Street during any Bike Week.
Once the pack of thousands arrives at Markham Park and disperses the many toys to the awaiting trucks and volunteers, riders are greeted with over 100 vendors from all over the country. There are rides for the kids, a food court with a board variety of fare to suit everyone, a huge bike show and a huge car show open to all vehicles—low riders, antiques, classics, trucks, street rods, and anything fast and furious.
Often compared to the California Love Ride, this run is big in bikers and in heart. People attend from as far away as New York, Boston, Detroit, California and Texas.
Over $20 million in toys has been collected and handled by the Fraternal Order of Police and then distributed in the four southern Florida counties. The money raised from this past year’s event exceeded the $6 million mark, partly generated by gate sales where all the biker fun and games cost only a $10 donation and a new, unwrapped toy. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation is one of the main beneficiaries of the run. To honor two decades of commitment, the new Pediatric Trauma Center at Hollywood Memorial is now named after the South Florida President’s Council of Motorcycle Clubs & Organizations and a plaque on the main wall lists all the clubs and organizations by name.
This Toy Run makes money for the right reasons of the season. In the past 19 years, it’s given millions of dollars in toys to needy children and money to Joe’s Hospital, but it has also donated over $120,000 to COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) Kids. The Shott Memorial received $7,000; North Broward Hospital District received $25,000; and Old Age Broward County received $3,500. In addition, Children’s Health Foundation received $2,500, and the Boys & Girls Clubs received $160,000. That’s over $200,000 in additional Toy Run donations. The Toys in the Sun Run assists adults as well as thousands of children with a portion of the collected funds dedicated to research and treatment of cystic fibrosis, juvenile diabetes, cancer, and pre-natal care for mothers in need. Because of their commitment to our communities, this huge undertaking has reached for and attained wonderful and humane goals.
If you would like to join in the activities and you are not a motorcycle rider, you can drive to the park and pay the entrance fee into the festival area - make sure you bring an unwrapped toy (no stuffed animals please) and come out and enjoy the celebration!
