Bikers surprise boy with Muscular Dystrophy

North Fort Myers, Florida (June 5, 2019) — Carter Rhodes just turned six years old, celebrating his birthday with two of his favorite things: fire trucks and motorcycles.

Carter has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy, which weakens the muscles around his lungs and spine, making it hard for him to breathe.

"As you can see behind me, he has several breathing machines that he has to use every single day. He has to sleep with it, if he doesn't he could pass away," said Tara Rhodes, Carter's mother.

The Rhodes family travels mainly outside of Southwest Florida for Carter's medical treatment to places like Orlando, Maryland, and Philadelphia, where Carter gets spinal surgery twice a year.

Medical bills on top of these travel expenses can get expensive, so groups like Ronin Riding Club, a local motorcycle club in Lee County, tries to help out.

Tara says the money they raise helps to cover most of the costs when they travel.

"Able to pay for our airfare, pay for our food, and the transportation while we're there from the airport to the hospital… but they've really been there since day one of him having surgeries," she said.

For his birthday, Ronin gave Carter a year-round family pass to Disneyworld and a new laptop. Another motorcycle group called Rebel Riders Club raised over $1,300 for Carter presenting it to him with a check.


Most of the riders tell me they just enjoy being around Carter.

"It's astounding to see his personality… he's always got a smile on his face, and he never lets anything get him down," said Wood, the national director of Ronin Riding Club.

Even though Carter was the one opening presents, family and friends say Carter is the best present of all.

"Cause they love Carter. His personality is infectious," Tara said.

To donate to Carter's cause, visit their Facebook or GoFundMe page.

SOURCE: WKRG 5

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Motorcycle rodeo raises money for sick infants

Huntington, West Virginia (May 31, 2019) — A "rodeo on wheels" will test the skill level of bikers Saturday, June 1, in the third-annual Motorcycle Rodeo at New Baptist Church in Huntington.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Lily's Place, a treatment center that cares for infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS.

Unlike cowboys competing to stay on top of a bucking bronc, bikers will compete to see how slow they can go before having to put their foot down. They will see who can drive the farthest across a six-inch wide board on the ground and compete in a relay race that involves digging through mounds of hay.

Motorcyclists take their bikes off road during the Lily's Place Rodeo on Saturday, June 24, 2017, at New Baptist Church in Huntington. Photo: Ryan Fischer/The Herald-Dispatch

The event is free for everyone to attend and held from noon to 4 p.m. near the church's parking lot on 28th Street. Registration begins at 10 a.m. and will cost $20 per rider and $5 per passenger to enter the competition. There will also be inflatables and a free bicycle rodeo for children.

The church's Upon Wings of Eagles motorcycle ministry joined the Blue Knights WV III Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club to create the rodeo three years ago, said Kevin Skaggs, event coordinator.

They initially wanted to hold a charity ride, but decided to do something different after reading about a similar motorcycle rodeo in another state.

They agreed the rodeo should benefit Lily's Place because several members of the church have family dealing with opioid addictions, he said.

"The drug issue has pretty much hit everybody in some form or another and Lily's Place is just really amazing in the things they are doing over there," Skaggs said.

In its first two years, the event has raised $6,000 to benefit the organization. This year, they are hoping to attract at least 40 riders and raise more than $3,000. Every penny from the event and a concession sales goes toward helping Lily's Place, Skaggs said. Prizes will be given to those bikers who display the best skills during the events.

"It's quite a spectacle to watch," he said.

Oliva Meade, director of development for Lily's Place, said she is thankful for organizations and churches that include babies affected by NAS in their fundraising efforts. Fifty percent of her nonprofit's budget is dependent upon people's donations.

Lily's Place opened its doors in October 2014 as the nation's first facility devoted to helping babies born with NAS. NAS is a group of conditions occurring when a baby withdrawals from drugs it was exposed to in the womb before birth, typically opioids. They also help mothers with substance abuse counseling and provide a peer recovery coach.

Meade said Lily's Place has a goal to obtain a behavioral health license to provide billable services to families and donations are important to achieve that.

"In the past year we're still seeing an increase in infants born with NAS," she said. "It is not increasing as rapid at a rate as what we've seen in the last five to seven years, but it is still unfortunately increasing. So we know we have to be bale to increase our own operations to be able to care for babies."

SOURCE: Herald-Dispatch

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East Texas bikers show support for grieving family

Lufkin, Texas (April 18, 2019) — The family and friends of 8-year-old Dilynn Creel and 3-year-old Jace Creel, gathered Thursday morning to say their final goodbye to the brothers at Carroway Funeral Home in Lufkin.

The two boys lost their lives after a tree fell on the back of their family's car in Angelina County during Saturday's storm.

The family says the two boys loved motorcycles. So they went on social media and asked local motorcyclists to attend the funeral and lead the procession.

"It's nothing for us to be able to jump on our motorcycles," President of Cherokee Family Motorcycle Club, Robert Dye, said.

Bikers from across East Texas attended the funeral to honor the brothers.


"They (the family) wanted to see as many motorcycles here as possible," Dye said. "They actually asked if there was enough here to make the ground shake."

That is exactly what happened. More than 50 bikers led the way to the Old Palestine Cemetery in Alto as a way to remember the two little boys who "liked everything little boys do."

SOURCE: CBS19