Scoot for Toys

Four years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Ronald McDonald House. I couldn't believe the spirit of these kids and their families. Here they were, many of them had travelled thousands of miles to come to the house, where many had been living for at least 6 mos to a year to even longer. They were all dealing with life-threatening diseases and conditions. Some of them were away from their brothers and sisters. Oftentimes they were only there with one parent as the other one stayed back to care for the rest of the family I felt compelled to do something.

Because I own a motorcycle/scooter dealership, I decided to bring together our Vespa scooter community to help out the Ronald McDonald House. We created "Scoot for Toys", which will mark it's 4th year in 2007. Basically hundreds of scooters ride around Denver and end up at the Ronald McDonald House during the Holidays. We bring them toys and household items. We feed them lunch, and we watch their eyes light up as hundreds of scooters zip into the parking lot on a cold November afternoon.

So far we have raised about $20,000 in funds over the past 3 years in addition to lots of toys for the kids. My goal this year is to raise $10,000. I am starting early hitting up all my friends to make this possible.

Every year when I scoot away from the Ronald McDonald House, I feel so good inside. It's almost a selfish act, because I can't imagine I bring as much joy to those kids as they bring to me. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell this story. Just writing it down, makes me even more committed to making it the best Scoot for Toys ever! You can see photos of the ride on my website at www.ericomotorsports.com.

Sincerely,

Tai Beldock