Motorcycle riders representing Colorado Harley Davidson dealerships ride in a procession to the Children’s Hospital Colorado to celebrate the annual Harley Toy Ride.

On Dec. 3, the rumble of motorcycles and metro area firetruck engines will signify the start of the 2017 Annual Harley Toy Ride, a yearly event that helps Children’s Hospital patients and their families experience the magic of the holiday season.

Bearing gifts of new toys, riders from Harley Davidson dealerships around Colorado join metro area firefighters at the Aurora Sports Park where hospital patients get a chance to ride on a fire truck. Santa Claus ushers a procession to the hospital campus where volunteers host a party and distribute toys.

Director of Volunteers Kathleen McBride has been with the hospital for 30 years and says she’s only missed one Toy Ride due to illness in all that time. “It’s an opportunity for the community to come together each year to touch patients and their families facing a hospital experience during the holidays,” she says.

Toy donations are also distributed at the Snow Pile, a two-day event that enables families of inpatients and outpatients in financial need to select holiday gifts at no cost. Toys are sorted by age and gender. Gift cards, art supplies and games are also popular.

Toy donations are used to stock the hospital playrooms and the network of care sites, sustaining facilities throughout the year.

To donate, see the donation guidelines and a wish list by visiting https://www.childrenscolorado.org/community/donate-volunteer/donate/in-kind/donation-wish-list/. For more information about the Harley Toy Ride, call 720.777.6489.