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The Traditional Melbourne Motorcycle Toyrun goes virtual for 2021

Since 1978, the Melbourne Motorcycle Toyrun has run every year bringing Christmas Joy to thousands of families and hundreds of thousands of children in Victoria. Each December, Victorian motorcyclists dress up their rides in Christmas decorations and bring toys, food and donations to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions the 2021 traditional Melbourne Motorcycle Toyrun will run as a virtual online event again. The Victorian motorcycle community's famous generosity will be channelled into individual and small rider group donations both online and at Salvation Army locations, ensuring children in need at Christmas will get to enjoy a gift, food or a donation given with care. Riders are invited to decorate their bikes and post their pictures on the Melbourne Toyrun Facebook page!

Major Mark Kop from the Salvation Army: “This year has again been about learning to do things differently. The Salvation Army has found new ways of working that have been surprising to us and incredibly effective as well. The Victorian Motorcycle Council has shown leadership and swung into action through their online approach. We know that thousands of families are going to experience the Christmas they would never have expected. Given all the pressures of 2020 & 2021 we will be able, together, to bring joy, hope and Christmas cheer to those who need it most”.

Graham Solomon – Chair of the Victorian Motorcycle Council: “With COVID-19 pandemic restrictions still in place, there are more families than ever doing it hard to put food on the table, let alone toys for the kids. It is vital for the motorcycle community to continue to support the Salvos in this worthy cause. As restrictions ease, the Victorian Motorcycle Council encourages all Victorian riders to enjoy a fun ride in small groups this Christmas ensuring they stay safe and obey the COVID-19 safety regulations.

The VMC Traditional Melbourne Toy Run will be online again this year. There are three ways you can make a huge difference to kids and families in need:

1) Donate money to Salvos Victoria

2) Deliver a wish - buy gifts for the Salvos to distribute

3) Host a food or gift drive of your own

We thank you - our charitable Victorian motorcyclists - in advance for your kind support. Everything you do makes a difference. Fingers crossed, we get to see you in person next year! Please contact us if you can help!

 

We look forward again to hosting the major Melbourne Motorcycle Toyrun event in 2022. The Victorian Motorcycle Council wish you and your family, “Compliments of the Season”, “Good Health and Happiness for the Future” and a “Happy New Year”. Safe Riding for 2022

 

 

Continuing the legacy of the Melbourne Toyrun from its humble inception in 1978 supported by Victorian Motorcycle Council and Melbourne Street Riders.
 

 This spectacular event is Melbourne’s premier Toyrun.

 Motorcycle Riders dress up their bikes, trikes and scooters with Christmas decorations and ride from all over Victoria to bring gifts, toys and food for the children and families of Victoria in need. The Salvation Army trucks will again be waiting to receive these gifts from the bikers and public.

 


The first Toyrun was held by the San Fernando Valley Charter of the Hells Angels in America 1973. That first run, 200 bikes escorted two truck loads of toys from Griffith Park to Los Angeles city hall. A week after the first toy run in El Lay, a couple of clubs in Bergen, New Jersey named the Skyway Riders and the Travelers held their own toy run.  “A number of residents here were terrified” the New York Times reported, “But the worst never came.  There were no gang fights…or the assorted other crimes depicted on television.”

Suddenly, people liked us.  They really, really liked us.  And, if you listened hard enough you could hear bikers all overAmercia thinking, “What a great idea!”

Toy runs popped up like mushrooms.  The next year, 1974, there wasn’t a biker’s rights organization or an outlaw club in America that didn’t sponsor a toy run.  By the time Harley-Davidson invented its own club, the Harley Owners Group (HOG), in 1983 the toy run had become an institution.

In 1975 Bikes Unlimited Inc. began the first Toyrun in Australia in Perth which is still running today.
 
In 1978 the newly formed MRA in Victoria began their Toyrun with a small band of riders that met in Albert Park to pass on toys to the Salvation Army in Melbourne, more than 500,000 motorcyclists have taken part, as the Toyrun phenomenon spread to communities across Australia.
 

There are toyruns happening all around Australia, use the pull down menus on the right for the one closest to you! They are welcome to all riders, their familes and friends. The Victorian Motorcycle Council hopes all riders will attend and support as many toyruns as possible and remember that this is all about the kids and those in need. Have fun!

 Website enquiries contact: editor@toyrun.org.au