Mark Littlejohn Christmas In July, 07/16/2011

What We Do

• A Caretakers Wish, Inc.
• Support-A-Soldier
• The Lambuth Family Center
• Silver Crest Senior Citizens Housing Programs
• Denver Harbor Light
• Community Programs for Families and Children
• The Salvation Army

Mark and Trish (his wife), along with the Sentinels Motorcycle Club (a law enforcement group), play Mr. & Mrs. Claus each year for these locations, Silvercrest, Lambuth, Harbor Light and Aurora Day Care and on Christmas day at the Colorado Convention Center. Mark Littlejohn’s Christmas in July Event has provided breakfast over the last 5 years for over 300 children who were able to come and shop for new school clothes in August.They were given juice, muffins, bagels and fresh fruit, after they shopped for a new school outfit. Mark is a great partner for providing nourishment and drink.

Nearly 36 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year. The Salvation Army has been meeting people’s needs in Denver since 1887. For more than a century, the helpless, hopeless and needy have relied on The Salvation Army for food, clothing, shelter, encouragement, comfort and prayer. In addition to these traditional services, our programs offer education, family care, childcare, elder care, gang intervention, youth camps, athletics, character building, alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation as well as response to emergencies and natural disasters for the benefit of the children, families and communities of the Rocky Mountains.

The Mark Littlejohn’s Christmas in July event will have 250 to 400 motorcycle participants. People from all walks of life, including law enforcement groups and military groups, will participate in this event to help those less fortunate.

I hope this has been of some help understanding the event and the motivation behind it. I cannot emphasize enough that the event is primarily a catalyst to provide a time and means for donations by businesses and individuals to meet the goals that Mark and the Sentinels have for providing assistance to the Salvation Army.

A starting point is chosen sufficient to handle up to 400+parked motorcycles. Mark and his associates will spend time laying out the route for the ride. The route will consist of 5 stops about 85 to 100 miles. Mark looks for scenic routes along the Front Range that will avoid significant traffic and still give the riders a ride they will enjoy.

Initially the groups will leave every 5 or 10 minutes with about 50 riders in each group. At each stop there is plenty of water and soda for the riders since each one of them get fairly hot and dehydrated during the ride. After a brief stop to select a card, it is off to the next stop along the pre-chosen route. At the 3rd. stop they host a BBQ style picnic. Mark and others will have solicited a number of purveyors who will donate food for the lunch. Also others, including the Salvation Army will supply the grills and other preparatory equipment necessary to serve lunch for around 500 individuals. After lunch and a bit of socialization and the third card draw, the groups are off again to the fourth stop. At the fourth stop again there is plenty of water and soda and a fourth card is selected. This stop needs to be large enough for all the bikes since they will wait there until all of the cycles have arrived and then they will ride en mass to the final stop. What a sight to see 250 to 400 motorcycles riding together. To date law enforcement has been quite helpful during the entire ride so as not to interrupt the flow of traffic and still allow the riders a rather unimpeded ride.

At the final stop, the fifth and final card is selected. The scorecards are then collected and totaled. In order to avoid any indiscretion regarding the formation of the poker hands, Mark will reassign values to certain cards or suits prior to the ride, but does not divulge it to anyone until the ride is finished and the points are totaled there by revealing the winner. There will be a raffle, a silent auction and an audible auction for items that are donated by various businesses and individuals. There may be a band present that will provide music while the participants renew acquaintances, swap stories, tell jokes and rehash the ride. As you can see, only some of the money raised for the Salvation Army is from the entry fees. The ride serves as a catalyst for donations from businesses and individuals to help this event provide funds to meet the goals listed in the cover letter. I would like to take this opportunity to dispel a rumor that seems to be raised every year. Many individuals tell Mark and Trish “You must make a lot of money from the event”. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Mark and Trish are one of the largest financial donors. They also spend far more time putting the event together than all of the other “helpers” do combined. Mark has told me that this event takes more 3 months away from his self-employed business. It is truly a labor of love and Mark’s dream is one day to see the event grow to include a 5 or 10k run and a bicycle ride and more.