Minnesota Legion Riders chapter uses July fundraiser to provide holiday season help

For nine years, the North Branch American Legion Riders Chapter 85 had staged a Christmas in July Ride to raise funds for families of deployed military personnel in the community around the holidays. But two years ago, the numbers of Riders in the chapter had dropped off significantly, putting the annual event in jeopardy.

But up stepped Camille Wentz, a member of Auxiliary Unit 85, and Sons of The American Legion Squadron 85 member Andy Specht. Both Riders at the time assumed leadership positions within Chapter 85 – Wentz as the director, Specht as her assistant director.

The pair, with the help of others, have been able to grow Chapter 85’s numbers up to 34 in just two years. And the Christmas in July Ride continued, raising around $5,000 in 2022 and then taking place on July 8 this year.

“We started completely over … so we’ve really come quite a long way in the past two years,” Wentz said. “Now it seems like everybody kind of has a passion, and we all started at the same level. When I went out recruiting people, I tried to tell them that there wasn’t really a hierarchy in this group. We’re all starting from the group up, and we’re going to do this together. I think that was really appealing. People weren’t intimidated coming into the group. We’ve kind of really formed a close bond, and this year’s ride was really indicative of that.”

The ride provides financial assistance around the holidays for military families in the area, including those with a family member deployed elsewhere. “Life can be stressful for families of deployed military,” Wentz said. “The ride started historically to support family members of deployed soldiers during Christmastime. Since there aren’t a whole lot of deployed people now, we’ve kind of broadened that to helping veterans and military families around the holidays. And we also want to get to the point where we’re helping them throughout the entire year.”

Specht said the ride “originally started as making Christmas possible for deployed soldiers’ children. Now, we’re trying to help other (military and veteran) families. If it means to make Christmas possible by buying gifts … then we’ll help them out during their time of need.”

This year’s ride was heavily promoted online and through social media. More than 140 people attended the 120-mile ride and live music at the post following the ride. Chapter 85 was able to get community sponsors and support, while American Legion Posts 185 in Grantsburg and Post 51 in Pine City were stop sponsors, and American Legion Riders from Chapter 566 in Lino Lakes and Chapter 225 in Forest Lake assisted with the ride’s road guard.

“The last few years I’ve been involved, it’s been incredible to see all the different posts that come to support the ride itself,” Wentz said. “It means a lot that other posts support us in multiple ways. Our own (post) supports us. And the community has been huge. A lot of local businesses did sponsorships. We had a local ATV dealership donate a pit bike that we were able to (raffle off). We had our own Riders donating items they had collected … and we had a huge silent auction that raised money.”

The combined effort resulted in more than triple what was raised in 2022, with nearly $17,000 brought in. “This year definitely blew us out of the water,” Wentz said. “We incorporated a lot of different fundraising things that we hadn’t done in the past. I guess all those little things added up.”

Events like the Christmas in July Ride have boosted not just Chapter 85’s numbers, but they’ve also raised awareness – and membership – in Post 85’s American Legion Family.

“Just drawing them into our group has brought quite a few members to the Legion, people that didn’t realize the Legion had anything to offer besides what you see in brick and mortar,” Wentz said. “I think it’s been good for people to see … there are different activities and a lot of new things going on. We’re trying to recruit a younger crowd … so that our legacy can continue.”

Putting in the time and effort to do the Christmas in July Ride comes from Chapter 85’s desire to “have funds to do things for the veterans,” Wentz said. “Our group is motorcycle enthusiasts, and that’s what we love to do: riding motorcycles. And planning a big ride like this is exciting. And we’ve incorporated vehicles in the ride now. We’re trying to go outside the motorcycle community to raise awareness about The American Legion.

“The bottom line is to support the veterans. But secondary, we have a ton of fun doing it, and we’ve kind of formed a little family. It’s fun. It doesn’t seem like work. It is a lot of work, don’t get me wrong … but it’s really a good time, and we all enjoy doing it.”

Seeing the effects of the July ride on local families is what motivates Specht to put in the work to make the event possible. “It’s not something I can really put into words,” he said of the experience. “To me, I’m completely humbled to see the gratification and the smiles on the faces that we’re able to give to our families that we support. I feel it’s a great accomplishment, what we’re able to do, and that we have the ability to do it.”