ROCKINGHAM — Santa Claus roared down Airport Road and into the parking lot of Pence Place Saturday afternoon riding a Harley-Davidson, accompanied by two Grinches and several other bikers.
They were there to bring a little Christmas joy to the nine young residents of the home.
Affiliated with Monarch, Pence Place in East Rockingham has been in operation for three decades and serves children up to age 21 with intellectual and developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury.
“They were excited,” said Taylor Lingren, who organized the toy drive for the same place her father’s former motorcycle club used to help.
Residential Team Leader Sherry Thompson told the RO in August that they were only able to spend $75 on each child in 2022, but added that they secured a generous donation from Mike Griffin.
This year, Lingren said she and her biker buddies were able to spend more than $480 per child. They also bought $130 worth of books for the Pence Place staff to read to the kids.
The money came from a fundraiser in December. Although the planned ride had to be canceled because of thunderstorms, the event still raised $3,700.
Santa (Robert Cobler) led the pack Saturday afternoon from the Hide-A-Way Tavern followed by the Grinches (Lingren and her husband, Rob), Angela, Donald and Kate Clifton, Hide-A-Way owner Flecia Sachs and Lee Williamson.
After parking their bikes, the crew unloaded a utility trailer filled with presents and gift bags containing: clothes; toys; dress-up clothes for the girls; Squishmellows; a R.C. monster truck for one of the boys; journals; and fidget toys.
Lingren added that they also bought bean bag chairs for the three children who are wheelchair-bound “to give them another option to watch TV in and be comfortable.”
She added that some all received room projection lights and other decorations “and had some of the group helping them put them up before we left.”
Lingren, with help from other bikers and the community was able to meet the goal she set earlier this year for the children of Pence Place: “…to make them have the best Christmas they’ve had in a long time.”
