BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Cheri Fletcher, aka Big Bird, hugs Cindy, of Washoe Valley, as she enters T's Bar during a fundraiser hosted by the Righteous Ones motorcycle club on Saturday. Money raised will benefit the children who were allegedly starved and locked in a bathroom in Carson City.
Beneath the grizzled beards and the leather jackets beat compassionate hearts. All it took was the news that two children had been locked in a bathroom for years for the motorcycle riders of Northern Nevada to open their hearts and their wallets.
"We are good guys and we want to do good things for kids," said Thomas "Scarecrow" Fletcher. "We will always do what we can for kids."
Fletcher, a member of the Righteous Ones Motorcycle Club, organized a fundraiser Saturday at T's Tavern, with the proceeds going to the Second Chance fund established to benefit the two children removed from an apartment on Como Street on Jan. 19.
A severely malnourished 16-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother were taken to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and three other children were placed in protective custody, after the girl was seen pushing a shopping cart full of food down East Second Street. The girl told police she and her brother had been locked in the bathroom of the apartment for years.
Approximately 150 people showed up at the event, and Fletcher said they hoped to raise several thousand dollars.
"When we heard this happened in our town to these kids, it touched us," he said. "As far as stepping up to the plate, we will do it and we hope the public sees it and it makes them step up."
Rob Lindenberg and his wife, Debbie, members of the Iron Nation Motorcycle Club, drove from Reno to show their support.
"It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting what these kids have gone through," Debbie Lindenberg said.
"It's windy and it's cold, but when I think about those kids it warms me up," Rob Lindenberg added. "There isn't weather bad enough to compare to what those kids went through."
The event included a silent auction of several framed prints and two Harley Ken dolls, as well as a raffle of more than 80 items totaling more than $1,000 that were donated by local businesses.
"We have everything from food to tire changes, oil changes, knickknacks, tattoo certificates, everything you can think of. Everywhere I went people were more than willing to give," Fletcher said.
Several of the motorcycle clubs from the area also made donations, including $500 from the Northern Nevada Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs and $100 from the Brotherhood of the Sierra Cal Motorcycle Club. A new computer for the children was also donated.
-- Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.