Park Lawn’s 18th Annual Big Bikes Big Hearts Charity Motorcycle Ride offers motorcycle enthusiasts a cause for which to ride.
Park Lawn director of development Nancy Schmitz said the event, set for Sunday, is a “win-win for everyone” because the fundraiser offers people who love to ride the opportunity to help others and have fun in the process.
The charity ride will benefit the residents of Park Lawn, an Oak Lawn-based nonprofit that offers services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to its website.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at At The Office Sports Bar & Grill, 4901 Calumet Sag Road, Crestwood. A $5-per-person breakfast will be served from 8 to 9 a.m. and the first riders are to leave at 10 a.m.
The $25 entry fee for bikers and $5 fee for passengers includes raffles, door prizes, a bike show, run pins to the first 700 bikers and admission to a postrun party.
Schmitz said each rider will pull a scorecard assigned a random number of points and add points in the same manner at the next three stops. Riders will decide their own routes to complete the trip.
“We think people appreciate it being more of a challenge,” Schmitz said.
She said the route features two stops that reflect this year’s “country” theme. Stampede Saloon in Manteno and Skooter’s Roadhouse in Shorewood, which are among the event sponsors, will greet hundreds of riders as they make their stops.
Schmitz said the number of motorcycle enthusiasts has increased over the years.
“We’ve grown to about 700 participants. We consider ourselves to be one of the biggest runs on the South Side,” Schmitz said.
She attributes the growth, at least in part, to being well organized.
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“We always have unique stops and we have lots of prizes,” she said.
Prizes will be awarded to the rider who collects the highest number of points, the fewest number of points, and the female rider with the most points. The prizes will be awarded at the postride party beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Sullivan’s Irish Pub, 4660 W. 147th St., Midlothian.
The postride party is open to the public. All proceeds from the $15 admission will benefit Park Lawn, Schmitz said.
“We’re encouraging people to come out with their cowboy boots and their cowboy hats and fit right in with our theme,” Schmitz said.
There will be live music by RockStar Rodeo and Superfly Redneck, and a split-the-pot raffle winner will be announced. For raffle tickets, visit http://www.parklawn.com/events or call (708) 425-6867.
“Our residents from Park Lawn always attend the postrun party, and I think it gives the bikers a chance to meet the folks they’re supporting,” Schmitz said. “The group of participants that attend the postrun party are social, they enjoy the music, they enjoy talking to the (riders), they enjoy checking out the bikes.”
Schmitz said Park Lawn’s supportive employment program is among those that will benefit, allowing it to help train qualified Park Lawn residents for jobs in the community.
“Currently we have 27 individuals working in the community at 21 different sites,” she said.
The Big Bikes Big Hearts fundraiser typically raises about $20,000, but the real benefit of the ride, Schmitz said, is that it “spreads awareness of Park Lawn to the most amount of people in one day.”
Ginger Brashinger is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.