Kaz Mamon's Ride for the Children
Reported by Erik Smith
Web produced by Rachel L. Miller

Mamon's riders head toward Children's Hospital. Video

It could be a scene out of one of those late-night biker movies -- a gaggle of growling Harley-Davidsons thundering down a stretch of endless highway.

But these bikers are on their way to bring smiles to a lot of sick children at Children's Hospital.

A child waves at the bikers.

"It's all about, you know, if you can put a on one kid's face for one hour, they've forgotten their illness," Kaz Mamon, the ride organizer, says.

When the word is put out that it's time to ride for the kids, it's not unusual to see a thousand bikers show up. What is unusual is that Kaz asks them for money to ride along with him -- and he gets it.

Thousands come to help kids continue their education while they're often hospitalized for long periods of time.

Kaz Mamon gets on his motorcycle.

"It's a great feeling to know I can bring that many people together for one day," Kaz says. "And that one day might spawn ten other things that they'll do to help whether it's as a group or as an individual.

"I encourage everybody to take 10 minutes out of your day. Stop at a Children's Hospital. I guarantee you you'll be there for an hour."

About a thousand bikers join in the ride for Children's Hospital.

In many ways Kaz is almost the embodiment of the mythical gentle giant. He built his own house with his bare hands, owns his own trucking company and still works the night shift at GM's Lake Orion Assembly Plant.

Yet he still finds the time to help children in crisis.

A ride participant talks with one of the kids.

Kaz's idea to help educate hospitalized kids struck sensitive nerves in the biker community a few years back. Each time he plans a ride, he gets a lot of motors running, both figuratively and literally.

He also had an idea for computers for the kids. It wasn't long before there was a corporate truckload of them in his backyard.

"It wasn't one person," Kaz says. "It was a series of people that came together to do this."

Kaz Mamon

"It's just a good feeling to know that I'm one man, and if I can draw a thousand people together to go see a bunch of kids in the hospital and for every one of those thousand people that come, they're going to tell somebody else, and they're going to tell somebody else, and that's that many more kids that are going to get attention and help."

Click here to find out more about Kaz's ride.

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