What could be better than indulging your passion and doing good work for your community and for people facing daunting challenges? Motorcyclists have got this one figured out.
We do poker runs.
What's a poker run, and how does holding one do good? Let's take a hypothetical example.
Suppose A Kid's Friend (AKF) is a non-profit working to provide stability and care for children in broken, badly dysfunctional families.
They need money to carry out their mission and they turn to as many funding sources as they can.
They decide to do a poker run.
The organizers will contact a variety of shops, restaurants, or other businesses who are interested in supporting their mission as well as in drawing more business themselves.
These become the stops on the run.
AKF then publicizes the event, telling people when, where, how much, and other details.
Let's say in this case they ask those who want to participate for $25 for a rider plus $10 for a passenger.
On the day of the event, the parking lot at the starting point fills with bikes.
Poker runs are wide open to all bikers so you're just as likely to see a Kawasaki Ninja 650 as a Can-Am Spyder RT or a Star Motorcycles Royal Star Venture S.
All are welcome.
The riders pay their fees and receive a sheet listing the stops.
Then they draw a card from a regular playing card deck and the card they drew is marked on their score card.
That's the first card in their hand.
They're playing poker.
In some cases, if a player wants to buy another card that is permitted.
After all, the object here is to raise money for the non-profit.
The rider then mounts up and heads down the road to the next stop.
There, they check in at the ride desk and draw another card, which is noted and is now the second card in their hand.
Of course, they are encouraged to spend a little money with the merchant whose shop the stop is at as well.
The ride continues until the riders all reach the final stop and draw their final cards.
Score sheets are turned in to the judges who will compare them all to determine who ended up with the best hands.
Usually at the destination there will be food available, sometimes for a price, other times at no extra charge, paid for by their registration fee.
Often there will be live music as well and a party is planned.
If the organizers have done a good job there will usually be door prizes to hand out.
The riders will have received a ticket for door prizes when they paid their registration, and additional tickets are available for purchase.
Again, it's all about raising as much money as possible.
The door prizes are generally donations from anyone wishing to support the non-profit and can be quite nice, often worth more than the registration fee paid by the rider.
Finally the winning tickets are drawn for the door prizes and an announcement is made of the best hands.
Depending on the number of participants, winning hands can pay very generous pots.
In some cases, hundreds of dollars go to winners, meaning that these lucky ones a) got a nice motorcycle ride, b) helped raise money for a good cause, and c) pocketed a nice piece of change to boot.
Often, winners will support the non-profit by donating a sizeable portion of their winnings back, helping the fundraising effort that much more.
Even for those who don't win anything, it's a day well spent.
They got out for a ride, they hung out with some friends and perhaps made new friends, and they did their community a service.
Who knew doing good could be so much fun?
We do poker runs.
What's a poker run, and how does holding one do good? Let's take a hypothetical example.
Suppose A Kid's Friend (AKF) is a non-profit working to provide stability and care for children in broken, badly dysfunctional families.
They need money to carry out their mission and they turn to as many funding sources as they can.
They decide to do a poker run.
The organizers will contact a variety of shops, restaurants, or other businesses who are interested in supporting their mission as well as in drawing more business themselves.
These become the stops on the run.
AKF then publicizes the event, telling people when, where, how much, and other details.
Let's say in this case they ask those who want to participate for $25 for a rider plus $10 for a passenger.
On the day of the event, the parking lot at the starting point fills with bikes.
Poker runs are wide open to all bikers so you're just as likely to see a Kawasaki Ninja 650 as a Can-Am Spyder RT or a Star Motorcycles Royal Star Venture S.
All are welcome.
The riders pay their fees and receive a sheet listing the stops.
Then they draw a card from a regular playing card deck and the card they drew is marked on their score card.
That's the first card in their hand.
They're playing poker.
In some cases, if a player wants to buy another card that is permitted.
After all, the object here is to raise money for the non-profit.
The rider then mounts up and heads down the road to the next stop.
There, they check in at the ride desk and draw another card, which is noted and is now the second card in their hand.
Of course, they are encouraged to spend a little money with the merchant whose shop the stop is at as well.
The ride continues until the riders all reach the final stop and draw their final cards.
Score sheets are turned in to the judges who will compare them all to determine who ended up with the best hands.
Usually at the destination there will be food available, sometimes for a price, other times at no extra charge, paid for by their registration fee.
Often there will be live music as well and a party is planned.
If the organizers have done a good job there will usually be door prizes to hand out.
The riders will have received a ticket for door prizes when they paid their registration, and additional tickets are available for purchase.
Again, it's all about raising as much money as possible.
The door prizes are generally donations from anyone wishing to support the non-profit and can be quite nice, often worth more than the registration fee paid by the rider.
Finally the winning tickets are drawn for the door prizes and an announcement is made of the best hands.
Depending on the number of participants, winning hands can pay very generous pots.
In some cases, hundreds of dollars go to winners, meaning that these lucky ones a) got a nice motorcycle ride, b) helped raise money for a good cause, and c) pocketed a nice piece of change to boot.
Often, winners will support the non-profit by donating a sizeable portion of their winnings back, helping the fundraising effort that much more.
Even for those who don't win anything, it's a day well spent.
They got out for a ride, they hung out with some friends and perhaps made new friends, and they did their community a service.
Who knew doing good could be so much fun?