Bike Rally held to benefit Youngstown girl
By Joan Janzen
There’s nothing bikers enjoy more than biking for a good cause. The Let’s Ride for Brooklyn Bike Rally, held on Saturday, August 6th, was an excellent opportunity for 49 bikers to get together and have fun. More importantly, to help out young Brooklyn and her family. Registration began at 10:30 a.m., and kickstands were up at 11:30 a.m. as the bikes left the Crossroads Centre in Oyen.
Brooklyn’s mom, Natalia (Nat) Laughlin, shared on social media saying, “Our friends, who are really more like family to us, Dave and Cheryl Ball and crew, organized a Biker Rally to fundraise support for Brooklyn’s specialized physiotherapy/occupational therapy and spinal stimulation.”
PHOTOS SUBMITTED
Stu Tilbert’s smoke show!
Six-year-old Brooklyn Laughlin has Spina Bifida.
Six-year-old Brooklyn, who has Spinal Bifida, was undergoing special therapy for Spina Bifida but came back early from her treatment so she could be at the rally. Nat and Larry Laughlin and their family are from Youngstown.
“I’ve always thought my kids were incredibly lucky to get to grow up where they do. Saturday really solidified that feeling. Not only do my kids have a large, loving extended family and loads of support from our local community of Youngstown, they are also supported by our surrounding small communities like Oyen, Cereal, Cessford and Hanna,” Nat said.
Cheryl Ball, one of the organizers, said many volunteers helped make the event possible. It all came together as people joined together, helping with set up, decorating, poker hands and helping in the kitchen. Stu Tilbert made good use of the burnout pit, smoking off tires and filling a Jerry can with cash donations for Brooklyn and her family.
Cheryl explained that donations were made at all the stops, and proceeds from various promotions were collected along the way. Prairie Girl Restaurant in Cessford hosted a delicious pulled pork lunch for the bike rally, providing homemade food and hospitality while contributing to the bike rally.
“The windmill project collected bottles for the past two months, and HR is going to match what they’ve collected,” Cheryl said. The 50/50 was split between the winner and Brooklyn, and ghost poker hands were available for those not riding in the rally.
“I honestly wasn’t sure what Brooke would think of the bikes, as she’s not a fan of loud noises, but she was absolutely over the moon and loved checking out all the bikes and waving to the bikers coming and going,” Brooklyn’s mom said. Since purple is the 6-year-old’s favourite colour, she enjoyed touching all the purple bikes as they flashed their purple lights.
The Laughlin family appreciates everyone’s efforts. The Cereal & District Athletic Association helped raise some funds for Brooklyn at their recent mud bog, and The Rack and Burstall Fuels contributed donations.
To show her appreciation, Brooklyn handed out Kit Kat bars, writing a thank you on each one.
“There are so many individuals that put in extra work to make this bike rally so successful; I can’t even name them all. It warms our hearts so much how many people that don’t even know us want the absolute best for Brooklyn. Thank you all so very much for everything!” Nat said.
“We have no idea yet of the total raised,” Cheryl concluded. But they do know that it was a really good day!