New York Families for Autistic Children (NYFAC) Toy Run
Top photo: A job well done by the NYFAC Toy Run Committee.New York Families for Autistic Children in Howard Beach helps parents and children on the autism spectrum one family at a time, and on Dec. 4, 200 men and women joined the NYFAC mission through the use of motorcycles and toys.
They came on two-wheeled “sleighs,” riding their Harley Davidsons from the George Seuffert Sr. bandshell in Forest Park, down Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards to VFW Post 260 in Broad Channel for NYFAC’s third annual Toy Run.
The motorcyclist holiday event asked for participants to contribute $25 and an unopened toy. In return, they socialized, enjoyed the warm, sunny weather in the large backyard, food, and live music by Walter & the Brotherhood of the Grape.
“Last year, 200 kids received toys,” said Anita Sessa, Executive Assistant to the CEO of NYFAC, Andrew Baumann. She told The Wave the VFW donated their space to benefit NYFAC.
Left photo: A festively dressed baby spreading joy to the NYFAC family.“Santa himself rode in his suit from Forest Park on his motorcycle with an entire bag of gifts,” added Sessa. The toys will be given out to children next week in Howard Beach.
“It’s obvious that these bikers care very much about these kids,” said Sessa, sharing that for the third year in a row, no matter where they live, “they just show up.”
In addition to babies falling asleep in parents’ arms during the loud live entertainment, the hall had vendors and tables filled with baskets to be raffled off. A 50/50 was held for a monetary prize. The most popular item, true to the biker spirit, was a Kikker 5150 motorcyle, handmade from scratch by one of the bikers.
The Kikker model was created in 2006 as “a kit for bike builders,” approved in 2015 for legal sale throughout the United States.
A holiday-decorated Snoopy was spotted among the dozens of motorcycles and bikers on both sides of Cross Bay Boulevard. Photos by Patricia Hannan
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