The BPM Motorcycle Club, alongside the Vigilant Guardians and Toys for Joy, held a rousingly successful toy drive, as well as fundraiser.
The event featured food and bakery treats cooked by BPM, as well as a live band, Griff and the Grifters, who played a set heavy on classic rock such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and other similar bands.
There was also a silent auction that gave away items that included Ed Sheeran tickets, a handmade frame by BPM member James Hathaway and other miscellaneous items and gift baskets.
In an on-site interview, the president of Toys for Joy, Mike Hunstad, talked about the history of the organization and the event.
In 1986, the realtors association, formerly the Anoka Realtors, wanted to help with a program locally that had decided to discontinue. Per Hunstad, they decided to set up their own organization, and team up with the Anoka Christmas community, to provide food and toys for the county.
“We’ve continued to grow since then,” Hunstad said, “next year being the 40th anniversary.”
The BPM partnership began when one of the members of Toys for Joy ran into a member of the biker group by accident, having been wearing a sweater for the group that prompted questions.
“We’re all volunteer based,” Hunstad said. “Everything we raise goes back into the community-they had been looking for a similar partnership.”
The group raises between 10-15,000 toys every year, alongside, as of last year’s estimate, 55,000 pounds of food.
The event successfully raised $5,197 in donations, per a count from BPM at the end of the event.
Group member Michelle Nisvit said that anything donated to Toys for Joy would stay in the northern portion of Anoka County, outside of Fridley and Spring Lake Park.