BRINGING CHRISTMAS TO GOD'S CHILDREN

For almost two decades, on a Sunday morning early in December, a fleet of buses and vans full of children have converged on a restaurant called Handlebar in Makati.

- By ED TAMAYO

They are welcomed by tough-looking men with big bikes, members of the Mad Dog Motorcycle Club or MDMC, of which I am one.

The children are mostly orphans. On that day, they are the stars of our annual Mad Dog Christmas Toy Run, a painstakingly organized event that is our way of bringing them Christmas and making it real for them. In the motorcycle community worldwide, a Toy Run is a holiday tradition of giving gifts, especially to children. Over time, as Mad Dogs, we have built our own version of this tradition.

Celebrating our 30th year anniversary recently, MDMC is an independent motorcycle club or MC founded in the Philippines, with chapters in six Asian countries. Our founder, Tom Leber, was the CEO of a pharmaceutical multinational and president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Our members come from all walks of life, among them chief executives, businessmen, and professionals. We represent more than 25 nations, bound together by a select brotherhood of camaraderie and hard riding. We live by the precepts of freedom, courage, and loyalty, guided by a code of conduct that includes respect for others.