MOOSEHEART, IL, May 18 - When the Moose Riders from Middletown, CT Lodge 1547 left Mooseheart following the 2009 Blessing of the Bikes, they did so with lumps in their throats.

They also departed determined to do something to benefit the children they had just met from the campus' New England Home. And the way in which they conveyed that assistance was through their love of two-wheeled transportation - something shared in a slightly different way by Mooseheart's students.

"After being here, we noticed that the kids needed bikes," Vinnie Jankowski said. "So we held a few fundraisers and raised money."

Moose Riders are members of the Moose fraternity who use their passion for motorcycling to commit regular acts of "motorized kindness." What the Lodge 1457 Moose Riders did next is typical of the sort of commitment shown by this very passionate subset of the fraternity.

""We've known them for a few years with our trips to the New England states," New England Home Family Teacher Philip Johnson said. "We saw them here last year at the Blessing of the Bikes. They called in March and said they wanted to surprise the boys with new bicycles."

The 2010 Blessing of the Bikes took place Saturday, May 15, so the Moose Riders from Connecticut arrived in town a few days prior and took the boys from New England Home to dinner. Then they sprung their surprise. More than just bicycles, the Moose Riders also provided new helmets, bike locks, a bike rack and a protective covering for the bike rack.

"I thought we were just going to go out and hang out and have dinner," Mooseheart freshman Paul Thomas said. "But when we pulled up, I saw bikes in a bike rack. I was so shocked to see all of those bikes."

The New England Home boys rode around an empty parking lot before heading to dinner. The bikes and bike rack are now in-place on campus. Thomas said he had outgrown his previous bike, making the visit by the Connecticut riders all the more important.

"Moose members would do a lot of things for us," Thomas said. "But these guys, I think, have gone above and beyond."

New England Home eighth grader Tim Givens was also in need of a new bike, as his old one had gotten rusty over the years.

"They're really nice and generous," Givens said. "They want to see us do well."

Mid-May at Mooseheart means motorcyclists moving majestically around campus, before being bestowed with a blessing for safe travels in the upcoming riding season.

The campus' Blessing of the Bikes ceremony marked its seventh anniversary this year. The event has branched beyond the campus tour and the actual blessing at the House of God. In keeping with tradition, more riders raised more money than ever before to benefit the children at Mooseheart, and now, the Special Olympics softball program.

This year, Moose International Assistant Director of Membership Chris Ecker, who has organized the event since 2006, said over $10,000 had been raised to date and more money continues to be received. A total of 347 motorcycles participated in the event, and 499 riders or passengers received the blessing. A year ago, 312 motorcycles and 401 attendees took part and raised $8,285.

"My target this year was 500 - we're right in there," Ecker said. "My target, money-wise, was $10,000. Maybe I should wish higher. The weather was good, but I think even if it was a bit chilly, you'd have dedicated Moose Riders out here, no matter what. I thanked the Connecticut riders for coming and they said 'Oh no, this is an every-year thing. Joan (Fedora) and Charlie (Titheridge) from Florida, this is their vacation. They plan every year to leave nice sunny Florida in mid-May and come to Mooseheart where, this time of year, it can be cold and damp."

Jankowski spoke of the feelings he had in riding around the Mooseheart campus.

"It's very emotional," Jankowski said. "You leave here with a big knot in your throat. It's the same with the people back home. When you tell them the stories, they start tearing up. When we show them the pictures, it's even more so. We are very lucky in what we have in life, and we want to pass a little of it on to these kids."

The connections with the Moose membership in the New England states have grown stronger since May 2009 as well.

"We put together a DVD after we came here for the first time," Jankowski said. "We showed to the people back home what goes on here. Whatever we need to do in order to help the kids, that's what we'll do. They have 100 percent support from our Lodge."

After the events at Mooseheart, the motorcyclists embarked on a charity run that took them to Pierce Harley-Davidson in DeKalb; St. Charles, IL Moose Lodge 1368; Indian Motorcycles of Chicago in South Elgin; Carpentersville, IL Lodge 1958; and finally the ride-ending celebration at Elgin, IL Lodge 799.

On Sunday, May 16, Moose Riders from several Lodges presented each Mooseheart Class of 2010 graduate with laptop computers and printers for use in college or other post-high-school endeavors. Moose Riders of the Florida/Bermuda Moose Association raised funds to buy 14 of the laptops, while St. Charles IL Lodge 1368 purchased another five. Moose Riders in Dorr, MI, and Carpentersville, IL, raised funds for another six computers in tandem with Moose Riders from Ohio; Palmyra, NY; Bullhead City, AZ; N. Hillsboro, FL; Copperas Cove, TX; and Downers Grove, IL, who also contributed funds for printers that were presented at the same time. This combined effort of laptops and printers represented about $10,000 in fundraising on top of donations collected at the Blessing of the Bikes.

"The key is for us to make it competitive and interesting for non-Moose Riders to become involved," Ecker said. "While the idea for Moose Riders is to come here and meet the kids and see where their donated dollars go, we have to have something to make non-members want to come."

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 1,900 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 220 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.