Moped Madness, a scooter club from Springs that has undertaken long scooter road trips for the past eight years, will do its drive this year to raise funds for Jabes Care Centre in Brakpan.

Jabes Care Centre is a foster centre housing boys between the ages of seven and 18 in a house in Sonneveld that has 19 boys in its care.

While the home they got from a generous donor keeps the boys safe, and house parents Mona and Fredrik Loubser don’t have to pay rates and taxes.

However they still have to pay electricity, school fees, stationery, school clothes and shoes, and fuel costs for driving the boys to different schools and activities.

While they don’t want to provide a specific number, the centre’s biggest need is its day-to-day cash. Moped Madness, which has partnered with Jabes House for a couple of years, is aiming to raise R100 000 for the centre with its upcoming trip.

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They leave on October 22 at 6:00 from Pawn Your Car opposite Triple 7 Motors in Springs CBD, and hope to have all 750km they plan to travel sponsored by local businesses and individuals.

It would not be without returns, as there are promotion packages available according to the amount sponsored. The sponsorships are R50 per kilometre, and the packages start at bronze supporter for R500, which comes with a business name mention on social media and a certificate of appreciation.

The highest tier is a platinum partner, which is a sponsorship of R10 000 or more, and comes with premium logo placement on scooters, jackets, and banners, daily mentions during ride updates on social media, an invitation to the final handover event, being featured in the recap video and local media, and a certificate of appreciation and a thank you plaque.

In between the two are silver supporters for R2 500 and gold supporter for R5 000, each with their own benefits. The club comprises friends from all walks of life who love scooters and adventure.

Their first drive was done on old, cheap scooters as a challenge to see how far they could get with a small toolkit. This drive will be completed on new, but still cheap, scooters, and there will be large social media fanfare.

On the first drive, the group noticed that many people were intrigued by a convoy of scooters driving a long distance. On past drives, many people stopped to take pictures or ask questions.

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It is for this reason that they believe the social media attention for the trip will be high, and they hope to use this attention to promote local businesses that sponsored the trip.

On top of the cash donations, which will all go directly to Jabes Centre, they also request sponsorships of food, accommodation, and fuel for the riders.

“The boys at Jabes consider relationships above all else, and we know them by name. We visit them to serve them, but they end up serving us. There is unity and brotherhood among them,” said Herman Rens, one of the organisers and riders.

To accompany the riders, the boys will write cards for the riders, which, according to organiser Francois Schenck, often makes the men very emotional.

Follow the team on Moped Madness SA on Facebook, @mopedmadness_sa on Instagram, or www.mopedmadness.co.za on their website. For further information or to arrange sponsorship, contact Schenck on 066 301 6284.