09 March 2007

what's up with this BACA business?

Some of y'all might occasionally wonder "What's that biker thing the guy in the kilt is writin' about?". Today, I'll try to explain...

BACA was the brainchild of one JP "Chief" Lilly, a licensed child play therapist in Utah. It started with one child that would be fine in the office, but would fall apart out in the world: Chief got some biker friends of his together, visited the boy at home, and an idea was born...

I first found out about BACA at the Ren Faire: I was a new rider, so I always tried to take a look at anybody's colours as they walked past. Saw a member of the S E Wisconsin Chapter, asked about it, and things kinda went from there: roughly a year and a half later, and I'm suddenly the pres of the second Chapter in WI.

BACA has a very simple mission: to help abused children feel empowered in the world they live in. Yes, we do charity rides and such: we're completely non-profit, and every cent somehow goes to help kids. But we do more than that: we actually go out and adopt these kids into our organization, making them a part of something world-wide...

Now, y'all know about bikers: scratch one, we all bleed... then we all get a lil' pissed. These kids become part of that: hurt one of our kids, we get a mite riled. The kids know this, so they feel safer: safe enough that, in one case, an abused 9 year old flipped the double-bird to her abuser outside the courtroom, right before giving testimony that put the asshat away.

There's more: court appearances, a counseling fund, plans for Camp BACA. But the basic idea is helping these children feel safe...

Check out the link: it explains FAR better than I can. And, if you see one of us, give a smile and say "hello": the person wearing the patch is willing to risk their ass to help a child feel empowered...

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