Long Island Harley Owners Group members bring gifts for kids at Little Flower campus
Ask any of the 80-odd Harley-Davidson bikers gathered in Wading River on Sunday why they braved a near-freezing 40 miles to deliver holiday gifts, and they will tell you: “It’s for the kids.”
Onlookers waiting at the Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York campus in Wading River could hear the thrum of their motorcycle engines long before they could see them. Some of the bikers in the procession, led by a Santa and Mrs. Claus, had decked their vehicles with Christmas decor.
Members of the Long Island Harley Owners Group met at Babylon Town Hall early Sunday for their annual toy run to Little Flower, a nonprofit that helps individuals with developmental disabilities through services such as foster boarding home care, adoption services and health care.
Tim Turner, director of the Long Island Harley Owners Group, said chapter members who purchase gifts try to meet the requests of children at Little Flower, whose Christmas wishes are outlined on lists compiled by staff at the nonprofit.
Long Island Harley Owners Group members. including Santa Claus and his wife, bring cheer to children at Little Flower Children and Family Services as part of their annual holiday toy run. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Asked about the importance of the yearly tradition, he said: “It’s the kids. Anything you can do for the kids.”
It’s the first year Anthony Macaluso, 58, and Donna Macaluso, 57, of Calverton, have taken on the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus, who traditionally lead the column of Harley riders. The couple, who have participated in the annual toy run since 2004, posed with children for pictures and let them sit on their motorcycle.
“It’s for the kids,” Anthony Macaluso said, as Donna Macaluso echoed, “To see … the look on their faces — it’s special.”
Robert Lowery, 83, who lives near Little Flower, started the yearly tradition in 1985 as one of many charitable initiatives spearheaded by the Long Island biker group. The event is the oldest toy run on Long Island, according to the group and Little Flower officials.
Gifts brought by a Long Island Harley Owners Group procession are loaded onto a truck at the Little Flower Children and Family Services campus in Wading River on Sunday. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
“It’s good to see it continue year after year,” he said.
Kerri Smith, chief operating officer at Little Flower, said the decadeslong tradition helps staff “make Christmas really special for the kids” and “fulfill our mission, which is to give them everything that they need to thrive, even during really challenging times.”
The approximately 50 kids living on campus love the event — especially Santa and the gifts — but most of all, it makes them “feel really special,” Smith said.
“That’s really what’s important, is [that they] really feel like someone cares and that there’s people out there that are thinking of them during the holidays,” she added.
One of the children living on campus, Stephen Banks, 17, took off his winter coat as he approached Santa, despite chiding about the cold from caregivers at the facility. He wanted to show off a Harley jacket in his picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Besides meeting the North Pole duo, his favorite part of the event was the snacks, he said.
As far as gifts, he asked for a lot of things, including football memorabilia. But what he would really want for Christmas, he said, is to win the lottery. Then, he said, he could move to Hawaii.
Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
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