Roughly 400 motorcycles were part of the Lansdowne Children’s Centre Foundation’s 20th annual Charity Motorcycle Ride on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
Bob Caissie, a long-standing volunteer of the organization, first started the event over 20 years ago to help raise money for the foundation’s greatest needs and since then, the event has become one of Lansdowne’s most important fundraising events of the year.
Escorted by police, the scenic tour kicked off at Brimich Logistics out on Oak Park Road and traveled throughout Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties before returning back to the starting line for lunch and entertainment.
Candace Kingyens, Senior Development Officer for the foundation and organizer of the event, said that while they’re still tallying their total, they were hoping to raise between $60,000 to $80,000.
“All the riders raise funds and pledges for the foundation and were hoping to raise between 60 and 80,000 dollars this year. We won’t know what the total is until later on in the day but all the funds will go towards our recreation department,” she said. “Having those funds is so important because it goes towards helping children and youth with going to camp, gaining independence, doing social activities, being active in our community, and just really giving them a great sense of independence and helping them reach their own unique potential.”
Throughout the event, riders got to enjoy both breakfast and lunch, a photo booth, shopping from local vendors and more.
“We have a lot going on today. We’ve got music from BarCode The Band for when the riders get back, our breakfast and lunch were provided by Strodes BBQ and Deli as well as some breakfast and coffee from the Tim Hortons West Branch,” she said. “We have various vendors here like Blackbridge Harley-Davidson and we also have a Build-A-Bear tent where $10 will go back to Lansdowne for every bear that’s purchased.”
As part of the event, Lansdowne also hosted a 50/50 draw that resulted in one resident winning $5,500.
Kingyens said that after eight long months of planning she was grateful for all 120 volunteers that helped out during the event.
“We have about 120 volunteers made up of staff, community members, and sponsors helping us out today, and I can’t thank them enough because all of these people working together just makes a huge difference for our kids,” she said.
