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The event started with just about seven bikes and grew last year to about 2,500 motorcycles, Ryan Ray of the Salvation Army of Clark County said.
The goal of the toy run is to ensure that no child wakes up on Christmas Day to a tree without a toy beneath it. Ray said the annual event amounts to Springfield’s “biggest expression of love” and that it puts a big dent in the Salvation Army fulfilling its need for toys every holiday season.
“Essentially we couldn’t begin to do what we do if it wasn’t for the Highway Hikers and the Toy Run,” Ray said.
In 2016, the event brought in close to $40,000 meaning around 2,000 children received two new toys as part of the program.
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Children 17-years-old and younger are eligible to receive toys. Parents will later be given instructions on when and where to pick up the toys.
“We’re giving back to the community…It’s just for the children,” said one Highway Hikers member who goes by the name Pigpen. “Kids need to have toys every Christmas morning…it’s all for the kids.”
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