18 000 toys collected for 36th Toy Run

The event has taken place in Benoni for eight years.

November 30, 2018

Sheina Razack 3 minutes read

All roads led to Benoni on Sunday as four mass motorcycle rides came in from the north, east, west and south of Gauteng for the annual Gauteng Toy Run.

Hosted at Benoni Northerns Sports Grounds for the eighth consecutive year, the Toy Run welcomed 15 000 bikers and hundreds of pedestrians to enjoy a day out at this unique event, after donating a toy as their entrance fee.

“The facilities and atmosphere in Benoni are great,” said one of the organisers, Pete Beart.

“The people are also so welcoming.”

Not only were City Times staff on the ground covering the event, but a drone was also circulating the area monitoring the bikes as they rode in – an exclusive you can find on our website.

Bikers from the Silverstar Casino in Muldersdrift, Carnival City Casino in Brakpan, Engen Blockhouse 1 Stop South on the R59 at Randvaal and Irene Village Mall in Centurion left their posts at 9am to arrive on mass in Benoni.

Needless to say, with the thousands of bikers en-route to Benoni, several roads were closed to ensure the day ran smoothly.

The Toy Run was originally started by biker individuals in 1982.

Since then, well in excess of 350 000 toys have been collected and distributed to the underprivileged in Gauteng.

For many of these years, the Round Table service clubs distributed the toys collected, from the day of the run-up to and in many instances on Christmas day.

This year, a whopping 18 000 toys were donated.

According to Pete, although this is fewer toys than last year, the interest of first-time attendees increased.

He added that attendance was lower than last year.

He also could not confirm whether the Toy Run will be held in Benoni next year.

The Toy Run is in its 36th year and the hope was to beat 19 000 toys, but another Toy Run will be held on the last Sunday of November 2019 where attendees can again join hands to exceed this target.

The Toy Run was created for two purposes – firstly, to help underprivileged children and, secondly, to upgrade the image of bikers.

Over the years, Pete said toys were not the only thing needed.

“We have some teenagers between the ages of 16 to 18 years old who need toiletries,” Pete said to Caxton radio jock Paul Rotherham.

Pete also encouraged gifts like a soccer ball that many children can play with together.

ALSO READ:

Giving back to the youth at Sithabile

The day also included live entertainment by bands like Backbone and Tryst, children’s play area, beer garden and SANBS donation tent.

“Benoni Northerns run the bar for us. We get a share of the profits from the bar after paying them for the venue hire,” Pete explained.

According to Pete, the available stalls for trade and food were utilised to support local businesses.

Twelve of the stalls were supported for free because they are charity-based.

These stalls include the SANBS tent, Greater Benoni Child Welfare and Cansa, to name a few.

From service clubs and beneficiaries alone, there were 280 volunteers, 80 from both Benoni and Kempton Park CPF and 28 CMS volunteers.

“There are many dozens of bike club attending the run from all over Gauteng, even from the Free State,” Pete added.

There were also 44 food stalls and 80 trade stalls for visitors to enjoy on the day.

*At the event, attendees were made aware of an Atlasville child, Ian Neethling (18 months), who has been diagnosed with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which is a cancerous brain tumour based on the pons of the brain.

“Ian was diagnosed on September 3 and he is too young to have radiation so he was only given three to six months to live without treatment,” said his aunt Donna Neethling.

“This leaves us with three months to urgently look into alternative treatment.”

A Facebook page, Ian Neethling, was created to raise funds for medical purposes.

Should anyone want to contribute to medical bills, Donna Neethling can be contacted on 084 264 8292.

For more information about the Toy Run, visit www.toyrun.org.za