Each year hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts descend on the Black Hills of South Dakota for the largest event of its kind anywhere in the world – the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. These bikers are known to be a generous lot. They show up to support runs and benefits to help a variety of causes all across the country. And, they show up each year during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to “Rally for a Reason” for Kids & Chrome.
Kids & Chrome began as the brainchild of Jim Burgess and his partners at Black Hills Harley-Davidson. Jim’s a guy with an affinity for children and motorcycles. As a father, Jim has two sons. One son, Drew, is a child with special needs. As a businessman, he is a co-owner of Black Hills and Sturgis Harley-Davidson.
A few years ago, Jim and his partners gathered up a group of like-minded friends to develop the concept for a benefit event to be hosted during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The vision was to support local Black Hills area children’s charities as well as to benefit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, dedicated in 2001 to preserving the significant role that motorcycling has played in the history of our nation as well as to share the legacy of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
In Kids & Chrome’s inaugural year, 2005, motorcycle enthusiasts, industry professionals, celebrities and legends all gathered under one roof for an eclectic mix of fun, food and festivities in the name of “Kids”, a local children’s hospital that needed expansion, and “Chrome”, the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. In 2007, the event’s 3rd anniversary year, Kids & Chrome raised over $100,000.00 in contributions, gifting over $70,000.00 to the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota and almost $30,000.00 to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame.
The funding from Kids & Chrome assists the Children’s Home Society of South Dakota in providing a home, school and therapy for children, primarily ages 4 to 13, with emotional or behavioral problems. Most are victims of severe abuse and/or neglect. CHS also provides foster care, adoption services, and emergency shelter services for children who are victims of domestic violence. Kids & Chrome’s gift to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum, provided the funding necessary to underwrite new museum exhibits and further archiving efforts in order to continue the mission of preserving the great history of motorcycling and honoring the men and women who have advanced the sport and lifestyle.
Kids & Chrome’s success goes to a generous industry and a group of local and national event sponsors like Budweiser, the Kids & Chrome title sponsor, as well as Black Hills Harley-Davidson, the Buffalo Chip, Black Hills Surgery Center, Performance Machine, Lehman Trikes, Baker Drivetrain, Yellow Tail Wine, S&S, Thunder Mt. Custom Cycles, State Publishing & Printing and Sturgis Bike Week.
Kids & Chrome will continue its tradition of helping these two vital non-profit organizations in the Black Hills with the 2008 Kids & Chrome benefit dinner and auction, which will take place during the 2008 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on Wednesday, August 6, 2008, at the Spearfish Holiday Inn & Convention Center, Spearfish, SD.
We invite you to “Rally for a Reason”. Support Kids & Chrome through sponsorship of the Kids & Chrome event, the donation of either a silent or live auction item, the purchase of a corporate table for the event, or by simply making a tax deductible donation.
For sponsorship and auction donation information, contact Darla Crown at Children’s Home Society at HYPERLINK "mailto:darla.crown@chssd.org" darla.crown@chssd.org or phone 605/391-5555. For event or ticket information, contact Stacey Sharp, Kids & Chrome Event Coordinator, at HYPERLINK "mailto:Stacey@thesharpagency.com" Stacey@thesharpagency.com or phone 605/341-5226. Or, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.kidsandchrome.com" www.kidsandchrome.com.
