More than 300 bikers put a smile on each of the 53 institutionalized children’s faces from the “Cocorii” Center. Our goal was to bring them a lot of gifts and improve their living standards from 7 locations: 4 apartments and 3 houses. This year as well, the bikers community mobilization was exemplary: in only 2 hours, 250 volunteers signed up … and more than 300 showed up. You know you are a part of something noble, important, humanly, when you read a post on FB: “I want to exchange Metallica concert ticket with a place on the Bikers for Humanity volunteers’ list!”
The donations that came from people unrelated to the motorcycle phenomena came by hundreds. By FB and Rock Fm we made out intention known and people from around the country were sending or personally bringing packages with clothes, books, stationery, toys.

Very important mention: sports figures and not only were also involved in our campaign. We collected an important sum of money as a result of auctioning off on our site a fencing mask belonging to our great champion, Ana-Maria Brânză (with it, Ana won a very important competition).
Cosmin Contra, the Romanian national football team manager at that time, came to support the children with an official T-shirt with signatures from all the national team players.

Our main partner, AMEROPA Grains, was way more generous than the previous year. A company made of bikers, named Călăre Pe Două Roți, that deals with printing T-shirts, caps, etc., decided to give us all sort of promotional articles. All the money obtained after selling these were directed towards our campaign.

We believe we had enough to make major changes in the 7 locations: double glazing glass, furniture, two sheds, fences, central heating systems or repairing the walls, plus a looot of sweets and toys. Each kid received a laptop or a tablet, many of them asked us if they’re toys because they had only seen such toys in movies. For an entire night, our girls (wives, lovers, bikers, etc.) sorted donations on sex and age criteria for the packages. Each of the 53 children benefited from a free ophthalmological examination and the ones that needed goggles received a pair. It’s obvious that the doctor who took close care so that all children benefit from it is himself a biker. Even the clown we brought in to cheer up the little ones is also a biker.

While some of the bikers were working on the apartments and houses, we had to keep the children busy. The first thing we did on Saturday morning: we put them in a minibus and took them to horsemanship. They rode, ran around and afterward we took them to our headquarters, a location made available by the moto club from Tulcea, Seawolves MC. That’s where we sang, we played and had a good time. We were impressed to find out that the children prepared an artistic program for the bikers, filled with dance, poems, and songs. John, the drummer from Compact taught the kids how to beat drums. There were archery activities, face paints – they got caught into a lot of games.

In the meantime, the 10 convoys made of motorbikes and cars rode in villages from Tulcea county, in randomly picked localities, where they dispensed of donations: clothes, toys or food. Where we saw poor children or people is where we gave.
Bikers for Humanity will go on for as long as there will be bikers in Romania. It’s difficult up until you exit your comfort zone. Once set in motion, you cannot stop. There are just as many people that think of our community as being aggressive, drunkard, respectless. I’m not saying there are no exceptions, but if we take a look at society and people without tattoos, neat… only physically… they’re not far from these “labels”.

These guys, because they’re humans, played with the kids and even if it was funny to see big tattooed bikers playing with children as if they were kids and then crying with emotion, left happy and fulfilled, knowing that they did more than just to throw in some concrete or hammer a nail, but they brought hope and a brighter future for these souls with low chances to receive what they had full-heartedly receive from Bikers for Humanity.

Together we’re Bikers for Humanity!