MOOSEHEART, IL - There has always been a sort of pilgrimage aspect to the relationship members of the Loyal Order of Moose have with Mooseheart.

The campus is, after all, along with Moosehaven, one of two facilities supported by the fraternity. And with its bucolic 1,000-acre campus and its 240 residents, there are many reasons to travel just south of Batavia for a visit.

For three years, the first of those mass visits has been the Blessing of the Bikes, which has seen an ever-increasing number of motorcycle enthusiasts arrive at the Child City for fun, fraternal feeling and a chance to hear Rev. Tom Riemenschneider wish God’s blessing on the riders for a safe riding season in 2009. With good weather, somewhere between 200 and 300 motorcycle enthusiasts will descend on Mooseheart on Saturday, May 16 for the sixth annual on-campus bike blessing.

This year’s Blessing of the Bikes, the sixth annual such event at Mooseheart, begins at 9 a.m. in the parking lot to the south of Mooseheart’s Fieldhouse.

“This has become the unofficial spring kickoff for Mooseheart,” Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart said. “What’s really been neat is watching it grow in the past five years to include Moose Riders from a number of states. It’s really neat to see the Moose Riders and know how they are able to combine their passions in one weekend - riding motorcycles and the kids at Mooseheart as well as the seniors at Moosehaven.”

At 10 a.m., riders will make the short ride across campus to the House of God, where Rev. Riemenschneider will deliver the blessing at 10:30 a.m.

“When you consider that these guys are able to take some things they, in this case, their love of riding motorcycles and their love of the Moose, these guys are having great weekends every weekend.”

Riders have traveled from Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia and many other points in the country in recent years. Moose International Assistant Director of Fraternal Programs Chris Ecker said a large contingent of Iowa-based riders is pre-registered for this year’s event.

This year, the hope for a broad-based attendance at the bike blessing is based on the fact that the International Moose Convention takes place in Chicago from May 22-27.

“That was kind of the hope, that people would come for the blessing and stay for the Convention and the (May 23) graduation,” Ecker said. “Some people just want to make it to Mooseheart and to make that pilgrimage and see first-hand what their dedication does.”

After leaving the House of God, the riders will leave the campus for a 65-mile ride on the back roads of Kane County before finishing at Zylstra Harley-Davidson in St. Charles for a hog roast and entertainment.

“The Moose Riders are a gathering of people with similar interests,” Ecker said. “They have a passion not only for motorcycles but in the Moose fraternity and the kids at Mooseheart and the seniors at Moosehaven. It’s not only the fraternal bond, but also the bond of the road.”

This year, the bike blessing has its first guest of honor: Jean Davidson, the granddaughter of Walter Davidson -- one of the four founders of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle manufacturing company.

Davidson is an author and educator who has developed curriculum for all levels of teaching at both the state and local levels in Milwaukee, WI. As an author, her historical books includeGrowing Up Harley-Davidson andJean Davidson's Harley-Davidson Family Album and the children’s booksRiding Back In Time - On My Daddy's Harley-Davidson; My Daddy Makes the Best Motorcycle in the Whole Wide World; Color Me Harley--Lets go for a ride; and Fun and Games with Harley-Davidson.

Davidson will be addressing the children of Mooseheart in the days prior to the bike blessing.

This year’s event benefits Mooseheart and U.S. Special Olympics. In 2009, the Moose Fraternity is solidifying its relationship with U.S. Special Olympics by underwriting the National Special Olympic Softball Program. The special Olympic participation in the Bike Blessing and Run kicks off a three-year plan which will culminate Child City’s hosting of the National Special Olympic Softball Tournament in 2011.

The Blessing of the Bikes is open to the public as well as to Moose members. Registration donation for the event is $15 for a lone rider, $25 for two-up on a single bike. The entry donation entitles participants to coffee, pastries and bagels in the morning, a participation patch, a leisurely ride through the Mooseheart campus, the cross-country ride following the blessing and the festivities at Zylstra Harley-Davidson later in the day.

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.