Legion Riders continue fundraising efforts

A nationwide pandemic has meant the cancellation of several national American Legion events, including the 2020 Legacy Run. There’s been a trickle-down effect at the department level, with some states having to either cancel or indefinitely postpone their large-scale fundraising rides.

But as the American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund has become such a passionate cause of the Legion Riders, with the Legacy Run having raised over $11 million since its inception in 2006, smaller rides are continuing to bring in scholarship money for the children of fallen military personnel and disabled veterans.

That includes in the Department of Wisconsin, which has held an in-state Legacy Run from 2014 to 2019 but had to cancel this year's because of the pandemic. But for the third straight year, the department’s District 7 American Legion Riders conducted their own Legacy Ride while observing proper social distancing and taking other precautions.

“That’s what we did. We figured out a way to make it work,” said Paul Roraff, the ride’s chairman and a member of American Legion Post 336 and ALR Chapter 336 in Onalaska. “It was originally scheduled for June 20, but with some of the closures going on, we backed it up to see if the situation would turn for the positive. It actually worked out pretty well because the establishments that were in support of what we were going were actually up and running.”

Around 70 motorcyclists and their passengers took part in this year’s ride, which departed from Lacrosse Harley-Davidson the morning of Aug. 15 and finished up at Holmen American Legion Post 284 later in the day.

The morning of the ride the Lacrosse Veterans Center was onsite to provide outreach and referral services for veterans and their families. Roraff said the center’s annual Veterans Bonanza – which Chapter 336 was going to participate in – had to be cancelled earlier this year because of the pandemic. Now, the center will be a part of future District 7 Legacy Rides.

So far, Roraff said around $8,000 has been raised from the ride, which will go to the Legacy Fund, Camp American Legion and two other veteran causes. Roraff said donations are still being tallied, so the total will increase.

“The Legacy Fund itself is something we push more because it has to do with survivors and dependents (of the fallen and disabled),” said Roraff, who also serves as Wisconsin’s American Legion Riders Association secretary. “It gives them a brighter opportunity for the education possibly that they wouldn’t be able to afford.

“These kids of post-9/11 age are getting to that college age where they need the actual help, so now it’s even more important that we raise what we can for the children.”

In Minnesota, where more than $625,000 was donated to the Legacy Fund from 2017 to 2019, there is no in-state Legacy Run this year. Knowing that, the 10th District American Legion Riders have scheduled a fundraising ride for Aug. 22-23 that will include stops at 15 American Legion posts.

Tenth District Legion Riders Director Linda Deschene, who rides with ALR Chapter 320 in Hopkins and is a member of Auxiliary Unit 630 in Brooklyn Center, said fellow Chapter 320 Rider Steve Sullivan started the state Legacy Run and has coordinated it for 10 years. “So it’s something very near and dear to his heart, and in response to that it’s very near and dear to all of our hearts,” Deschene said.

Registration happens the day of the ride, so Deschene doesn’t have a head count of participants yet. But she and her fellow Riders know exactly who they are riding for.

“As a parent myself, these children … it was the ultimate sacrifice their parent made,” she said. “In connection with that, the child also did. So I feel personally responsible in helping the educational part for these children that their parents are not able to do.”

In Oregon, American Legion Riders Chapter 21 in McMinnville is doing something a little different in September that is a result of seeing the impact of the Legacy Fund. On Sept. 12, its Riders are conducting a poker run event that will benefit a post scholarship program that provides financial assistance to local children and grandchildren of veterans. This year $4,000 in scholarships were disbursed from the fund to children going into some kind of secondary education.

“I would say the Legacy Fund was the inspiration for us doing this locally and bringing this to our local community,” ALR Chapter 21 Director Paul Schnell said. “It’s something that now the schools and parents and teachers are talking about. It probably raises awareness even more of The American Legion and the American Legion Riders in our community.”

Schnell said most of the fundraising motorcycle rides in Oregon have been canceled this year, and even though this year’s Chapter 21 poker run will be scaled back, “we’ve been pretty headstrong in that we’re going to go through with our event this year. It won’t be as big as last year. Last year we had a live band, we had steaks, we had a silent auction and all that kind of stuff.”

This year the chapter also had a 2013 Suzuki Boulevard C50 donated that is being auctioned online now and will continue in a live auction following the poker run; the current bid is $3,550.

“Our challenge this year was we were shut down for three months,” Schnell said. “We didn’t spend six to seven months soliciting donations like we normally would have. But we have a great event planned, and all of it is for the scholarship fund.”

As the Legacy Run donation period continues, we want to share stories similar to these in American Legion national media. If your chapter, district or department has found alternative ways to raise money for the Legacy Fund – or if you’re able to use traditional ways to bring in donations for the fund – please let us know. Email sbrooks@legion.org with the details of your efforts. We’ll follow up with you and feature those efforts on www.legion.org and via social media.