KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The kids inside Foreign Language Academy in Kansas City, Missouri, received a special surprise on Wednesday.
Kansas City, Kansas, nonprofit Hands to Heart for Disadvantaged Children is making sure every child feels the holiday magic this Christmas.
Santa may deliver toys on his sleigh to children around the world, but his Kansas City, Kansas, helper delivers toys on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
"It ain't a better feeling, ain't a bigger high in the world to see a smile on a kid's face who may not get much for Christmas," Michael Bergen said.
Children call Bergen "Biker Santa" or Motorcycle Toy Man.
The KCK native started the nonprofit 30 years ago. The organization hosts two charity motorcycle runs to fund Christmas deliveries for kids in need.
"Last [December], we were able to reach 14,500 children," Bergen said. "I couldn't do it without everybody."
After 30 years of going to schools with bags full of toys, Bergen explained the excitement never gets old.
"To be able to have something to open on Christmas, ain't a bigger joy than that," Bergen said.
Bergen's Hands to Heart also delivers presents to Native American reservations across the region.
A group of 65 bikers recently got back from a reservation in Oklahoma, passing out toys and household necessities.
"I'm very blessed and fortunate that all the people of Kansas City come together and they show up to these bike runs," Bergen said. "They all hustled and made it happen, made a lot of people get a good Christmas this year.”
Foreign Language Academy's principal explained seeing the joy her students felt on Wednesday is priceless.
"To see their excitement and the joy in their faces as we're approaching the holidays to make sure they have something to open and with their peers to share that, it's very heartwarming," Michelle Aguirre-Hill said.
The toys may be simple and similar — dolls for the girls and airplanes for the boys, but the presents are seen differently through the eyes of a child.
"It's a little more than just something to play with, it's something to call their own," Bergen said.
As long as kids keep believing and Kansas City keeps showing up for the bi-annual bike runs, Bergen plans to be Santa's motorcycle helper for years to come.
"To see all the smiles and to be able to do what we do, it's because everybody comes together," Bergen said.
—
KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.