A biker gang rolled through the area Friday morning carrying enough frozen turkeys and Thanksgiving dinners to feed 80 families.
That was the New Philadelphia-based Ohio Gorillas, a motorcycle club formed this past summer to make a difference. Zach Garbrandt is a member.
“When we started out club, we said we wanted to be a community-based club. Everyone here, individually, has already been active in the community so we wanted to put our numbers together in our outreach.”
This fall, the Gorillas reached out to businesses, school districts and the community to collect donations and deliver Thanksgiving meals to families who could use a helping hand.
Club member Ron McAbier, New Philadelphia’s service director, says the results exceeded expectations.
“It was just a real community event. We’re fortunate that we’re surrounded by so many great partners in this.”
Club members met at their headquarters on 1st Drive Southwest behind The Venue restaurant, loaded up their pickup trucks – it was a little cold for motorcycles – and delivered boxes to five area school districts and homes. New Philadelphia social workers Janna Leeper and Lexi Begue welcomed the Gorillas at Welty Middle School.
The Ohio Gorillas are in the early stages of planning a toy drive for Christmas. Find them on Facebook to see how to contribute.
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