Bikers in Wilmington give back this holiday season

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The local hog chapter in Wilmington named Harley Owners Group is giving back to the community and showing there is more to bikers than meets the eye.

Members of the group took a break from riding to load up bicycles with a very special purpose in mind.

The purpose of trying to assure that no kid wakes up on Christmas morning without a toy.

The group bought nearly 200 bikes to donate to Toys for Tots.

“With Walmart and Carolina Coast Harley Davidson helping us all along the way, we ended up with 176 bicycles this year over the 142 we had last year.” Richard Porter, a member of Harley Owners Group, said.

Once the trucks were loaded, the riders took them to begin the real work.

The bikers, alongside volunteers, assembled each and every bike.

One by one, the bikes were made with the child who will get it in mind.

“It really makes you feel good to put the bicycle together, to know that a child is going to wake up Christmas morning with a smile on their face.” Director of the Harley Owners Group, Leslie Mitchell, said.

This thought was echoed among other bikers, who said that being part of this was indescribable.

“It’s the most awesome feeling in the world,” Porter added. “You can’t describe it. I’m at a loss for words this year.”

There’s more to bikers than you might think.

“Bikers always get a bad rap,” Porter said. “’Oh they’re outlaws and renegades.’ Most of us are just regular working people that care about the community and care about the kids.”

Thanks to this special work, these bikers are going to make a very special Christmas morning for almost 200 kids.

Members of the group are asking for your help to donate helmets to the Toys for Tots event at the Coastal Harley dealer on December 4th.