The Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club, Green Swamp Chapter, recently held its 12th annual “Christmas in the Swamp” and collected 1,200 toys to be distributed to students in need at Tavares Elementary and Mascotte Charter schools.
“We hold a toy drive on the second Saturday of every December and ask people to bring an unwrapped toy,” said Jerry “Wingman” Brock, chapter president. In return, participants enjoy a free dinner with ham, turkey and sides, along with live music. About 250 people attended this year's event in Groveland. “It’s amazing,” he said.
Along with helping ensure the students have a happy holiday, the club also chooses a community family to support each season. This year, it’s a grandmother who works as a waitress and lives in a studio apartment, where is raising her 6- and 8-year-old grandchildren while their mother is in rehab for drug addiction. “We passed the hat,” Brock said. “There are only 16 members in our chapter, but we raised $500 in cash for her.”
The club also supports the “Shop with a Cop” programs at the Lady Lake, Clermont and Wildwood police departments, and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and they sponsor two law enforcement scholarships and a correctional officer scholarship all at Lake Technical College.
Nam Knights of America Motorcycle Club was founded in 1989 by Vietnam combat veterans. They have 84 chapters nationwide and one in Canada. All are 501c3 nonprofit organizations. Their mission is to raise funds for disabled veterans and law enforcement officers and to support their local communities.