CHARLES TOWN — Though fairly new, the Jefferson County chapter of the Sorry Souls Motorcycle Club is already here to help the community.
The club has been a staple in the area for a number of years, doing community outreach and charity work, but the Jefferson County chapter is doing its job to keep the work going.
On Saturday, the club is hosting an event at Longshots to raise funds for several projects, including a kitchen renovation at the Jefferson County Boys and Girls Club, an IT system at Jefferson County Community Ministries and a laundry room/clothing closet area at JCCM.
“We started this chapter the first week of September with just a handful of guys,” Chapter President Scoob said, adding the mission is to erase the stigma on motorcycle clubs through community outreach and charity.
Scoob said the club members just happen to be people who enjoy riding motorcycles together, people who also enjoy making the community a better place.
“When you see us ride around, we’re good people,” he said. “We’re not Sons of Anarchy. We’re here to make the community a better place, and we’d like (the community’s help to do so).”
The club is calling upon those interested to purchase tickets, priced at $10, for Saturday’s event. The ticket will enter the purchaser into several raffles and drawings, the big prizes being a 64-inch Samsung smart TV, a 10-inch iPad and a PlayStation 5. There will also be silent auctions throughout the day.
The proceeds will benefit the three big projects the club is working on at the moment, projects that could have cost large sums of money. However, through generous donations from local business and groups, the fundraiser will hopefully cover the remaining cost. Scoob thanked everyone who has donated thus far, including 101.5 Bob Rocks, the Loyal Order of the Moose 948, 84 Lumber of Ranson and MR Stone LLC.
The biggest task at hand has been the kitchen, which will be top-of-the-art as a way to give back to the community.
When Scoob and his club members first started, they met with the local Boys and Girls Club to learn that the organization could no longer cook meals on site after losing its health code waiver. Instead, individuals were driving to the Berkeley County site to prepare meals that would then be brought back to Jefferson County to be delivered. Making trips weekly from April until late September, the organization delivered more than 20,000 meals to those children in need throughout the county.
“Even though Jefferson County is a lot of people and a high per-capita income, they seemed to be left out,” Scoob said.
From new cabinets and counters to a new refrigerator, the Boys and Girls Club will better be able to serve the community. Currently, the Boys and Girls club stores milk at Independent Volunteer Fire Company due to lack of space inside its current refrigerator.
The other two projects the club is working on will benefit JCCM, an organization that works to meet the needs of everyone in the community. The IT system will allow for the organization to have better organization, while the laundry and clothing closet will benefit those in need of clean apparel.
“It’s all paper and metal filing cabinets,” Scoob said.
To help offset those costs, the motorcycle club’s event will go toward all three projects. The money goes directly into a back account set up by the receiving organizations for the motorcycle club, the club itself allowing the organizations to directly purchase the goods and services it has arranged.
Door prizes will go off every 15 minutes, many donations from businesses bringing together about 30 prizes. Individuals must be present to win the door prizes and raffles; however, individuals do not have to be present for the main drawings.
The club is also asking anyone interested to bring donations of school supplies for the Boys and Girls Club, as well as men’s and women’s hygiene products and baby products for JCCM.
“We want to stock up and have inventory to hand out (for them),” Scoob said.
Both organizations will have tables set up with information at the event. Bob Rocks will also be on site from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the club’s Facebook page, Sorry Souls MC Jefferson WV, or through email, sorrysoulsjco@gmail.com.
The event is family friendly with plenty of space for social distancing. COVID guidelines should be followed.
The table to buy tickets will be set up outside, in front of the Longshots, to follow state law with the lottery commission but also allow for those who just want to purchase tickets to feel comfortable. Tickets will be available day of.
