First-ever Cruise 4 Kids poker run to benefit Olive Crest.
Move over cars and trucks.
Hundreds of Harleys will be “hogging the road” in five counties this Sunday.
The first-ever Cruise 4 Kids begins at 7 a.m. Sunday, June 7 at Sound Harley in Marysville. Hundreds of motorcyclists will register and enjoy breakfast before beginning the five-county ride to benefit Olive Crest Homes and Services for Abused Children.
“I think it’s going to be pretty exciting,” Olive Crest Special Events Director Toni Young said. “It’s the first time, so we’re learning lots.”
Dale Bone, owner of Legend Harley-Davidson in Silverdale, and his wife have donated to Olive Crest for years and decided to put together a poker run to benefit the nonprofit organization. Olive Crest provides “counseling, education, foster and adoption services for kids whose lives have been disrupted by abuse or neglect,” according to the nonprofit.
“My father and his wife are big supporters,” Legend General Manager Cory Bone said.
Legend Harley-Davidson spearheaded the Cruise 4 Kids effort and Cory said they’ve been planning the event for about a year.
“We just kind of took the ball and rolled with it,” he said. “It worked out pretty good.”
Cory said seven Harley dealers around Puget Sound signed on to participate in Cruise 4 Kids. The ride begins at Sound Harley in Marysville and motorcyclists will stop at various Puget Sound Harley-Davidson dealers before ending at Legend Harley-Davidson with a barbecue and live music.
“It’s been quite a collaborative effort, which is kind of nice to see,” Young said.
“I think one of the unique things about the Pacific Northwest dealers is we all get along very well,” Cory added. “We all have a pretty good relationship with one another.”
Cruise 4 Kids participants have a chance to win a new 2009 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softtail Classic, valued at $20,000.
“All the dealers pitched in to pay for the bike,” Cory said.
“That’s probably one of the biggest prizes for a bike run I’ve heard of,” Young added.
She said more than 100 people are currently signed up for Cruise 4 Kids, but Cory anticipates more people will register for the event.
“I think our registration will shoot up this week,” he said.
Money raised through Cruise 4 Kids will benefit Olive Crest’s various programs to help abused or neglected children.
“It basically covers all of our programs,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of programs and the money definitely helps all of that. We don’t want to be cutting these programs for these kids because they need it.”
Young said the children supported by Olive Crest enjoy knowing people are supporting them and seeing others participate in Cruise 4 Kids gives them “a real sense of community.”
“These kids, they just don’t have anyone advocating for them,” she said. “Foster care is one of those things that’s not a real hot topic.”
“It’s for the kids, that’s the main reason we’re doing this,” Cory added. “It helps them out.”
People are encouraged to register before Sunday, but day-of registration is available from 7-9 a.m. at Sound Harley in Marysville.
“We would love to have as many people as possible come out,” Young said. “It’s really going to be a fun day.”
For more information about Cruise 4 Kids, visit the event’s Web site at www.cruise4kids.org.