HOLYOKE –  A decades-old toy drive that has turned into one of the largest motorcycle rides in Western Mass. will once again help families during the holiday season, despite a global pandemic.

Bruce Ridest, Peter Silvano and Melvyn Hood organized the motorcycle ride and have helped run Hope for the Holidays toy drive to benefit Brightside for Families and Children in Holyoke for years. Ridest explained to Reminder Publishing that the toy drive has been taking place for 34 years after it began in 1986.

“It was started by Bill Wohlers and Timothy Beaudry, they had a friend that was in Brightside and he just told them about all the stories and all the kids, and they wanted to give back to their community,” Ridest said.

The organization, he explained, “has been in the area since 1881” and “started off as an orphanage.” Now, Brightside, according to their website, “helps to build families and support individuals through family outreach and stabilization, psychiatric and medication evaluation and management, special education, and by being there to offer support and encouragement.”

Ridest said that the motorcycle ride began years ago as a small motorcycle run around Thanksgiving. Over the years, the motorcycle ride grew from a dozen or so people delivering presents to Brightside to a three-day fundraising event and toy drive with hundreds of motorcyclists participating in the run.

“It started off as a run around Thanksgiving for the children for Christmas for Brightside,” he said. “It turned into a three-day event about eight years ago now.”

Ridest said in a normal year, they would stand outside the Wal-Mart in Chicopee on Memorial Ave. on all weekend to ask people to consider donating toys or monetarily. “Saturday and Sunday, we set up at the Chicopee Wal-Mart from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., [we] set up with a bunch of tents, collecting toys and monetary donations,” he said.

After the weekend ends, Ridest said hundreds of motorcycles gather to deliver the donations collected over the weekend to Brightside. “We have one of the largest motorcycle runs in Western Mass. We get anywhere from 400 to 700 motorcycles, and they all come and they bring the toys,” he said.

In addition to hundreds of motorcyclists, Ridest said Red’s Towing, Recovery and Transport in West Springfield, supply trucks for the event that get filled with toys. “They provide trucks we fill with toys, usually we get two flatbeds filled with toys,” he said.

The group then drives over to the Providence Hospital, where Brightside is located, to deliver the donations. Typically, there is an after party following the ride as well.

However, this year the whole event will take place in a different format due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The afterparty that is typically hosted, is cancelled, along with the weekend-long drive. However, Ridest said they’re still working hard to give children and families the Christmas they deserve. “This year with the pandemic it makes it kind of hard. We’re thinking outside of the box to keep everyone safe,” he said.

Part of thinking outside of the box, he said, was coming up with a one-day event to raise money and gift donations. The event will take place on Nov. 8 at the Providence Hospital on 1233 Main St. in Holyoke. The event, which takes place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. will give people an opportunity to donate money, toys, gift cards or gift certificates to help benefit the children and families of Brightside.

Ridest said during the event there will be a number of booths set up to collect donations in a safe manner. “We’ll have donations booths set up at the hospital on Nov. 8, four or five booths so it doesn’t get congested,” he said.

He added that while toy donations are being accepted during the event, what the organization preferred was “monetary and gift card donations,” due to being short staffed. In addition to collection donations on the day of the event, Rider has also set up a GoFundMe page to collect donations. The online fundraiser, which has a goal of $20,000, had raised $1,875 at the time of press.

Those interested in donating to the GoFundMe can do so by visiting https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/brightside-toy-run-hosted-by-hope-for-the-holidays?utm_campaign=oc&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=crowdrise&fbclid=IwAR3PVh0I5SEc2WBAee6qENw6xdpBJZyrFGJ7AZuahYWe0Wx5zwe5cIw-0uY. More details about the event can also be found on the event’s page at https://www.facebook.com/events/526235608247431/.