Holiday HOGs

Think Santa only uses sleds?

This December, in towns all across the country, toys will be delivered to needy children by black-leather-clad men and women on big, rumbling motorcycles.

That's right: Harley Owner Groups—otherwise known as HOGs—run holiday toy drives. What's more, they've been at it for decades.

One of Santa's most dedicated HOG helpers is Ron Catronio, an 18-year veteran of the nation's largest motorcycle-driven toy drive, in which some 30,000 bikers hit the road to benefit Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. For Ron, that's just the final rev in a year devoted to helping, as he puts it, "children who can't help themselves."

He cofounded the Big Bike Riders Association three years ago with an unusual dual mission: riding motorcycles and reaching out to children. He developed the program Smile Miles: contributors pledge an amount for each mile a member rides, and the funds raised go to local charities, such as SOS Children's Village and the Children's Home Society.

The group, now 74 members strong, also provides emotional and spiritual support with regular visits to the kids. Special occasions call for an extra effort. Last spring, Ron and his volunteers roared into God's Little Acres, a retreat for gravely ill children, to drop off Easter baskets—and the Easter Bunny. The kids loved it.

That's why Ron, 54 and a grandfather of three, rides as hard as he does. "We're trying to do something different," he says. "When you see how much it helps, you just feel a glow in your heart."