JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Close to 200 children who will be spending Christmas in a Jacksonville hospital are going to have presents to open that morning, thanks to a local biker group.
The Northeast Florida Biker Connection group delivered hundreds of toys to Wolfson Children’s Hospital Thursday morning as part of its annual toy drive.
Things like Hot Wheels cars, Legos, dolls, Play-Doh and stuffed animals were dropped off at the hospital. But instead of Santa and his reindeer, there were motorcyclists escorting truckloads of toys.
Taylor Endicott, a child specialist at the hospital, said there will be something for everyone, despite their condition or circumstance— including having sensory items and toys for those who may have behavioral health challenges.
Endicott said these drop-offs always lead to immense gratitude and joy from kids and their families.
“First parents freak out because they are like ‘What? Where did you get the stuff from?’ Then we talk to parents outside of the room and explain that we had the donor come in and drop these off for you guys.,” Endicott said. “Then the kids just freak out. They are so excited because one, they are bummed that they cannot go home for Christmas, but then when they realize that Santa can still get their toys in the hospital setting, they freak out. It just fills your heart with so much joy to be able to give for these donors to be able to give just 20 minutes of happiness to a patient and their family while they are here at the hospital.”
This marks the fourth year Northeast Florida Biker Connection has been doing this toy drop off.
After the first year of the event, they renamed it: “Stuff the Trailer for Axe.”
It was named after Lanny Wilson, who was affectionately called “Axe.”
Axe died in a motorcycle crash in 2022 while on his way home from their first toy drop-off event. He was 67 years old.
Ellisa Morris, a music therapist at the hospital, has been working there for six months. Therefore, this is her first donation season.
“As you can imagine, being in a hospital over any major holiday is not fun. Being here in general is not really fun. When they have something to look forward to, especially when we are able to match gifts to our kids’ likes and personalities, it really goes a long way, and providing comfort, and creating a normal environment for them as much as we can while they are here,” Morris said.
Joe Lowery, the president of the Northeast Florida Biker Connection, said they have no plans of slowing down.
“We know that they are going to like it. It brings joy to all of the clubs that are participating in it. Some of these kids are in the hospital for months. It is just good to give something to the kids,” Lowery said.