Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive and Motorcycle Run to Benefit Brightside

SPRINGFIELD — The children served by Brightside for Families and Children will be the recipients of the annual Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive and Motorcycle Run.

The three-day event will begin on Friday, Nov. 7 and continue Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Walmart store at 591 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. During those two days, new unwrapped toys, gift cards, and monetary donations will be collected from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Sunday, Nov. 9, the Motorcycle Run portion of the event will begin from Walmart to Mercy Medical Center at 299 Carew St. in Springfield, kickstands up at 11 a.m. The entry fee for the ride will be a new, unwrapped toy per rider. Toys collected during the event will also be distributed to needy children through Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen in Chicopee.

Event organizers are Emanuel Afonso, Jared Berkeley, Ralph DiChiara, and Bruce Rivest, who have worked to make the Hope for the Holidays Toy Drive a successful annual event. “We are grateful to be able to continue this annual tradition,” Afonso said. “It’s important to ensure that every child and family supported by Brightside and Lorraine’s has hope and joy during this holiday season.”

Major sponsors of the event include Dunkin’, Old School, Harley Davidson, the Hanley Family, Haymond Law, Red’s Towing, American Harley Davidson, and many more. For more information or to make a donation, visit the event’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brightsidetoydrive.