TEMPLE, Texas — More than 900 people and 750 motorcycles showed up for an annual toy drive Sunday afternoon.
It was a record turnout for the 29th annual TriCounty Toy Run of Central Texas (TCTR). The toy run is a Multi-County, Multi-Community event, covering the counties of Bell, Coryell and Lampasas.
Bikers from around the state of Texas showed up to Frank W. Mayborn Civic & Convention Center in Temple Sunday for fundraising, food, fellowship and of course, the ride.
At 1 p.m. sharp, the hundreds of bikers rode from Temple, TX to Lampasas, TX. That's where the charities benefiting from the toy run come in.
"They pick up what we have," said Justo Andaluz, vice chairman or the TriCounty Toy Run of Central Texas. "It's usually about 20 charities that we support and then we see the faces of the people who run the charities."
Those in attendance get to work hand and hand with the charities so they can provide for kids who need it the most. Andaluz says it's a priceless moment and the charities are very thankful
The annual event helps bring many biker clubs and organizations together for a good cause - kids. The mission of the Non-Profit and those participating is to make sure no kid goes without Christmas.
"At the end of the day, we want to support 20,000+ kids so that's the biggest part of it -- that's why everybody here does it," Andaluz said.
As the 29th year comes to a close, many are looking forward to the bright future and for more people to hop on board.
The attendance at the 2021 event was double of what it was the previous year but members of the TCTR already have bigger plans in store.
"This this makes it great because next year is our 30th anniversary and we're gonna make it big and we're looking to at least double what we had today," Andaluz added.