More Sturgis News
Sturgis has moved forward as planned, and there have already been issues, which I reported on earlier. Since then, things have continued to get crazier, including a fatal motorcycle accident, according to the Rapid City Journal.
To help combat the impact COVID-19 has had on the local Meals on Wheels in Sturgis, and to help support the local community, the motorcycle rally is actively raising money for the organization.
What’s odd is that the people that the organization benefits are elderly folks. These are the same folks that could be most-negatively impacted by hundreds of thousands of people gathering in the small town of Sturgis. They’re the most susceptible to COVID-19, which is without a doubt spreading around the community, in part, due to the massive influx of people there.
“We respect any riders who choose not to come to the event due to COVID, but encourage them to ‘donate a tank’ to thank and help the local seniors who have seen the rally become the most famous of its kind in the world,” GiveAShift founder Robert Pandya said to J&P Cycles. “Supporting the Sturgis Meals on Wheels program is a natural fit for any biker and will have a hugely positive impact for local senior citizens,”
GiveAShift is supporting the initiative. However, it feels kind of hollow to me. If the organizers of the event really cared about the elderly in Sturgis, they should have held the rally virtually and then tried to raise money for Meals on Wheels.
I love the idea of raising money for Meals on Wheels in Sturgis, but I find it ridiculous that the same riders who seem to have no regard for the health and safety of the community to suddenly want to raise money to help benefit an organization that provides help to people the rally puts in risk.
With that said, the rally is moving forward. Meals on Wheels is a very important service in the community, and I’d expect it will become more important in the future. You can donate by clicking here, and you don’t have to be at the rally to do so.
Let’s do a follow up on this story. One that connects with the managers of SMOW and see how this years effort led by motorcyclists and motorcycle brands delivered 10x the funding the recurved all of last year in just over a week. Your assumption is that I pushed for the rally to happen. I was not on that side, but once it was recognized as inevitable by the city (important for supplying needed services) facilitating additional quarantine resources IS EXACTLY what was needed. That’s the point we made, and you missed.
Robert,
I’d love to set up an interview! Sounds like a follow up is needed.
Feel free to reach out via email, and I’ll find a time that works for us to jump on the phone.
Thanks for reaching out!
Best,
Wade