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Salvation Army receives biggest toy donation yet from local bikers
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Santa Claus and the Grinch were able to put their differences aside Saturday morning to help drop off thousands of toys with local bikers at the Salvation Army Turlock Corps. (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

The streets and sidewalks on and near Lander Avenue in Turlock were shaking Saturday morning as Santa Claus and nearly 300 of his biker friends rolled into the parking lot of the Salvation Army Turlock Corps. to deliver Christmas gifts to local children in need for the fourth straight year.

The hundreds of bikers are members of the United Motorcycle Clubs. They come from across the Central Valley to do community service projects. This year’s toy dropoff saw the biggest turnout of bikers and the most toys donated.

“Thousands. Multiple thousands of toys this year. The most we’ve ever done by far,” said Jim Shelton of the Modesto Motorcycle Association of California.

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Nearly 300 bikers from across the Central Valley rode up to the Salvation Army Turlock Corps. to donate thousands of toys to local children in need during the holiday season. It was the largest turnout in the four years of the toy run (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

There were so many toys donated this year that instead of the usual bags being hauled and dropped off by individual bikers, the group came riding alongside a storage truck from Mitchell’s Modesto Harley Davidson filled to the brim with toys.

“It’s overwhelming,” said Turlock Salvation Army Capt. Jeffrey Breazeale. “They blow me away every year. Each year they just outdo themselves. 

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For the first time in the four years of the United Motorcycle Clubs dropping off Christmas gifts at the Turlock Salvation Army, a storage truck was needed as thousands of toys were donated by local motorcycle enthusiasts (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

“It’s amazing to see a group of people that normally have a bad stigma or are frowned upon by the community try to make things better for the community,” he continued. “These bikers here, the camaraderie and the love that they have for the community is second to none.”

According to Turlock Salvation Army Capt. Katie Breazeale, there are 15 adopted families and over 1,500 children signed up to receive toys this holiday season.

“We're definitely feeling very blessed with this donation,” she said. “We will definitely be able to help a lot more families in need this year. I just want to thank this group of bikers from the bottom of my heart for helping and making a difference.”