El Nino Toy Ride

Day: Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Time: 1pm meet, 2pm ride
Place: Santa Monica Blvd. & Vermont Ave / Red Line Metro Station

Why:
A
few days ago the LA Greensters were notified that St. Anne’s, a
community service center in the neighborhood that helps disenfranchised
young women, children and families in need will not be receiving their
annual toy donations for the Christmas Party that’s coming up. Big
bummer for the 150 kids this Christmas.

The party is still
planned to go on and it includes the surrounding community – a
community we often ride through. There’s blanket rides, burrito rides,
food drives and other toy rides so we thought what is nicer than a
bunch of cyclists organizing to give away a bunch of toys to a future
generation of LA. Start the bond early with cycling and we’ll have more
cyclists and a cleaner city. Most fittingly it works into one of the
most important directives of LA’s Best Bicycle Plan: to get a
generation of cyclists on the streets in LA.

Who:
Anyone can
ride with us! Bring along your family, friends, neighbors. There is
safety in numbers; we consider groups of cyclists as “traffic calming
devices” and we will not leave you behind. If you have young children
you should bring a trailer or ridealong, but; the ride will be short
and paced so everyone can follow. If you have locks, helmets, lights,
repair kits and water bring them along — Greensters will be available
for ride support.

Donations:
Everyone is encouraged to bring
along an unwrapped toy or gift for children ages 0-17. We can arrange
to pick up gifts and/or money donations before the ride if you cannot
attend or wish to make a larger donation. If your toys are too big or
too heavy for you to carry on the ride we are equipped to haul these
items for you. All donations are fully tax deductible and a letter of
acknowledgment will be sent to you from St. Anne’s a 501 (c)3
organization.

How:
The LA Greensters in support with the deep
and viral Los Angeles community are throwing the “El Niño, para las
niñas” “the storm for the girls” toy ride to gather and deliver
donations to St. Anne’s Women, Children & Families in their time of
need. We want to show that riding a bicycle is about making positive
change in this world while having lots of fun. It may be short notice —
that is the nature of “El Niño” and I’m sure that we can come together
to make a great Christmas for some kids in need.

Where:
We
are riding from a major transportation hub so the ride will be
accessible by train, car, bus, and by foot. We will be making some
stops so you can pick up a gift along the way in East Hollywood,
Wilshire Center/Koreatown, Echo Park, Silverlake, etc. We will drop the
toys off at St. Anne’s and ride back to the start. We won’t be going
too far and will most likely finish the ride with a stop for food and
refreshments.

Sponsored in partnership with http://RebelWithoutACarProductions.com

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