Charitable gifts of love

For the past 27 years the last Sunday of November marks the annual Toy Run which takes place at Maynardville, Wynberg.

The Toy Run which was launched in 1982 by the Italian Motorcycle Owner’s Club aims to bring joy and excitement to the little hearts of underprivileged children who at this time don’t have a special toy that they can call their own.
For the second consecutive year the congregation of Dunrobin-Bellville, under the leadership of District Evangelist Bell, who also just so happens to be a motor cyclist, have listened to the plea of the Charity Toy Run leaders and donated thousands of toys for distribution. On Sunday 22 November 2009, approximately 138 motor cyclists revved their engines at top revs as they entered the bustling entrance of the congregation of Dunrobin-Bellville for a divine service to be conducted by Bishop S Smith. This served as the official collection date for the toys donated by this congregation for the Charity Toy Run next Sunday.
During the opening prayer the Bishop remembered the many bikers who have died tragically and made special mention of an accident which took place the previous night claiming the life of one biker and leaving two injured. A candle of remembrance was burning in the foyer with a helmet beside as a sign that these bikers were not forgotten. The Bishop thanked the children for their charitable gifts of love and mentioned that it comes from the understanding that it brings great joy to give to those who have very little to smile about.
After the divine service the excited children sang “A New commandment” which speaks about loving one another and this touched the hearts of those present to the extent that a few tears were shed. Before the official handover of the toys the Chairman of the Charity Toy Run Trust, Rodney Ford, shared a few thoughts with the congregation and mentioned that many church organizations come to them asking for toys to donate to under privileged children, and for the first time in 2008 they had a church donating toys to them, which resulted in them being able to distributed 27 130 toys last year. He thanked them for their gifts of love to those less fortunate and then together with the children they made their way to the foyer where the official hand over took place.
The excited and eager young children followed the bikers to their bikes which were displayed in such a proud manner that some of the children urged their parents to purchase them a bike for this Christmas. The proud bikers allowed everyone present to marvel at their master pieces which were then fired up once again with a thunderous roar that could frighten anyone who wasn’t expecting to hear such a noise.
For the children this was a special day as one could easily observe that they understood the purpose of the event and already at this young age understand the art of sharing and loving one another. Together with the organizers of the event which will take place next Sunday, 29 November 2009, they hope to reach a new goal of distributing 30 000 toys to the many special children in Cape Town.