I’ll bet a lot of ya remember last year around this time when the picture of the big Hells Angel paying for toys at Walmart went viral, with millions of views world wide. That Hells Angel is Merl Hefferman, and the 17th annual Fresno County Hells Angels toy run was bigger than ever, thanks to Merl’s big heart and the hard work of his brother Angels, and other California clubs.
They collected donations all year, then stood in line at Walmart for several days to make hundreds of homeless and disadvantaged kids happy at Christmas. After buying the bikes, they also had to be assembled, and that chore was taken care of by volunteers from many clubs who worked as a team to get them all put together in time for the run.
There were also several “firsts” this year. It’s the first time a Hells Angels event has run a television commercial, the first time a toy run has been advertised on a city bus and roadside billboards, and a first for a Hells Angels ride to be led by a Fresno City fire truck!
Merl also was featured on TV and radio shows promoting the run. His viral publicity last year set the stage for this year’s even bigger event, and social media played a big part in advertizing this year as well! When all was said and done, they had collected 527 brand new bicycles of all sizes, styles, and colors, and at least a dozen overflowing pallet-sized boxes of toys. The toys and bikes were the only Christmas presents most of the kids got, and their joy was obvious.
The toy run started on December 5th, at The Intimo cocktail lounge, with riders coming from all over California; music provided by Gus and Izzy from 105.1, The Blaze; and diesel trucks full of bikes and toys that were waiting to deliver their loads of smiles to the kids.
It’s been said of the Angels that “When we do good, nobody remembers; when we do bad, nobody forgets,” but this time, Fresno and the local media remembered the good, and stepped up to help publicize the event.
After signing in, several hundred riders left the Intimo headed downtown to the Poverello House with Merl and “Santa” Mel Swafford (leading the pack for his 17th year), and hundreds of kids waited for the arrival of what would probably be their only Christmas present.
The parade of motorcycles was awesome, and all along the route, people were watching and waving as we rode by. In all my 50 + years of riding, I can remember very few times I’ve ridden in a pack this large, and that alone, was quite an experience! Several clubs provided road guards to stop traffic, and the pack proceeded non-stop along the whole route, finally pulling into the blocked off street in front of the Poverello House, and down side streets for blocks in all directions. At 40 mph, it took about 4 minutes for the pack to pass any given point, and that’s one hell of a LOT of motorcycles!
At the Poverello House, the semi trucks and drivers from Lawson Transportation, Numark, Walmart, and R&B unloaded the bikes, and volunteers helped the kids choose just the right bike for them, as their parents looked on.
After the last of the bikes went to their new homes, we all gathered at The Sportsmen’s Club to eat pasta that was provided by Luna’s Pizzaria, and a huge cake to commemorate the event. The big raffle prize was a 50-inch LCD TV, with a lot of other great prizes going to lucky winners.
If you didn’t make it this year, plan to be there next year for an even bigger run. Many thanks to Merl and the Fresno County Red & White, all the clubs who helped out; Screamin’ Demons, Notorious, Pancho Villa Riders, Soldiers for Jesus, and many more, and the folks who stepped up to sponsor this event with donations, transportation, and participation! They made sure that a lot of kids had a Merry Christmas who wouldn’t have without their hard work and dedication.
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