MOOSE JAW — The Moose Jaw Cycle Association will resume its annual Toy Run this year with the aim of supporting the Salvation Army in its ongoing mission to put smiles on the faces of children who otherwise may not receive much — if anything at all — this Christmas.
This year’s Toy Run will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21, and will run from Manitoba Street West up Main Street to the Salvation Army Church at 2 Wintergreen Drive off Thatcher Drive.
“This year is the 36th annual (Toy Run),” explained Murray Roney, president of the Moose Jaw Cycle Association. “We’re doing the Toy Run parade up Main Street, and we need as many motorcycles as we can get.”
There’s no certain estimate for the number of participants in this year’s run as the association doesn’t take advanced registration. Roney said this is due to uncertainties from harvest duties to inclement weather concerns, but last year’s run saw around 300 participants for comparison.
Regardless, each participant is asked to bring an unwrapped toy, book, or a cash donation for a child in need this holiday season. Ideally these gifts are either new or unopened, and Roney said to leave them unwrapped so parents can shop for something their children will love.
“We just end up with a big pile of toys on top of a blue tarp up at the Salvation Army,” Roney said. “They sort through everything and go from there.”
The annual fundraiser wasn’t always met with open arms. When the Toy Run tradition first began in the ‘70s it was met with public skepticism.
“It took probably 20 years of this before we kind of got to the point where people knew what we were doing,” Roney said. “They just weren’t sure. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s there was the stereotypical motorcyclist (image in the public mind) so we had to fight through a lot of stuff (to get to where we are today).”
Today this stereotype has been overcome and Roney said it’s good to see this change of public sentiment. Even a few police officers typically join the run on their motorcycles.
“Most of us have grown up in Moose Jaw, so everybody knows us. It’s not like we’re strangers coming into town or anything,” he added.
The association is partnered with the Downtown Moose Jaw Association and — although this year’s events didn’t line up — the goal is to have the run coincide with the annual Little Chicago Show & Shine.
After the run, the group will meet at The Crushed Can for a steak night fundraiser to raise additional funds for the purchase of toques, mitts, and scarves to donate to the Salvation Army’s Christmas hampers.
Tickets for the steak night will be sold for $25 apiece and, as they’re being sold at the door, there’s no need to purchase them in advance. The Crushed Can is located at 82 Manitoba Street West.
“It’s really something to behold when you’re on your motorcycle up at the top of Main Street and you look back and they’re still turning on from Manitoba,” Roney said in reminiscence of the yearly run.
This sense of support is only surpassed by the smiles brought to children’s faces each Christmas.
“Just thinking about the reaction that the kids and their families have at Christmas time… is… (the reason why we do this).”
There are no specific requirements to join the Moose Jaw Cycle Association and Roney said anyone who knows a member of the association can simply reach out.
To participate in the Toy Run, all you need is a motorcycle and a gift. The group will meet along Manitoba Street between the Fourth Avenue Bridge (Thunderbird Viaduct) and Main Street North and all attendees are asked to arrive at least half hour early.
The parade will start at 2 p.m. sharp on Saturday, Sept. 21.
