·  by Gordon Nichols, Local Union 1693, USPA Member,

Kentucky Steelworker raises more than $150,000 in five years for local charity

What would motivate a 46-year-old, Harley Davidson-riding Steelworker to raise $153,688 for charity over five summers? How about an 8-year-old cancer patient that was using her allowance to buy stuffed animals for other kid patients on the cancer floor. After seeing the girl on an episode of the TV show Extreme Home Makeover, Craig Bailey thought, “If an 8-year-old girl with cancer can do something, so can I.”

Craig is an 11-year member of USW Local 1693 in Louisville, Kentucky. After seeing the show, Craig started “Bikers & Bears” to collect stuffed animals for kids fighting cancer in the area’s hospitals. Unfortunately, he ran into trouble with his plan to help when a doctor asked him to stop because the germs that can be held in stuffed animal toys could be harmful to kids in treatment.

Determined to make a difference, Craig developed a new plan. He decided to host a motorcycle Poker Run that included a cookout, music and live auction. He recruited volunteers, collected donations and signed-up sponsors so he could donate “every penny” to a kid’s cancer group instead of using it to pay for the event. A close friend suggested that the benefactor be Camp Quality Kentuckiana.

Camp Quality (CQ) is a national, non-profit organization that supports kids with cancer by sending them to a one-week, all-expenses-paid camping experience. Attendees are between five to 17 years old and are partnered with a “Camp Companion” which is similar to the Big Brother Big Sister program. There are 15 camps across the United States in places like Texas, Michigan, New Jersey – the Kentuckiana (a nickname for the Ky./Ind. border areas) camp is located in Henryville, Ind. CQ also host events throughout the year and helps feed kids and parents while they are in the hospital being treated for their disease.

It costs $1,000 for one kid to attend camp and the goal for CQ is to not turn anyone away. So Craig got to work raising money.

In 2012, Craig held the first event. Participants paid $10 per bike and $10 per passenger to take part in the 50-mile motorcycle ride, and afterward everyone gathered for a cookout with live music, raffles and auction. All of the food, musicians and auction items were donated and the staff was made up of volunteers. That first year was a “huge learning experience,” says Craig. But he was happy with the results of raising $12,188 for CQK.

Craig had no idea he was just getting started, though. Each year he exceeded his goals – he raised $18,500 the second year, $24,000 the third, $41,00 the fourth and in 2016, they raised a whopping $58,000! That year, 88 kids went to camp and because of their hard work, Craig and his team raised enough money to pay for 58 of them.

Eddie Bobbitt, the Co-Executive Director of CQK says they have been able to double the amount of kids helped through CQ in the last three years and that is a “direct result of the work from Craig and his team,” and that he has never met someone “so dedicated to the cause of helping these kids.” “He is an inspiration to us all and makes us all want to do more. He is definitely a leader in the community,” Bobbitt says.

CQK wants to send 100 kids to camp in 2017. Craig and his dedicated team of volunteers (including some fellow USW members) are currently working hard to make the 2017 Poker Run a huge success to help them reach that goal.

This year’s Poker Run will be held June 10, and starts at the American Legion on Crums Lane in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, contact Craig Bailey at 502-681-2954. Craig would like to send a special thank you to his team because “they are the reason this has grown so much.”

It's because of this amazing service that Craig has been nominated for a Jefferson Award. If you'd like to learn more about our partnership with the Jefferson Awards Foundation and to nomiate a Steelworker you know who's doing great things in their community, visit www.usw.org/members/the-jefferson-awards.

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