CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Jim “Dagger” Dagostine is known as the toy man.
“People just think I always carry around toys,” he said, laughing.
But there’s some truth to the name.
For the past 30 years, Dagostine has organized Dagger’s Annual Toy Run - a toy collection drive and fundraiser to benefit the Salvation Army.
It all began in 1986, when Dagostine and two of his friends came up with the idea do something to give back to the community.
It started small - raising nearly $60 in donations and collecting about 50 to 60 toys.
“That was back in the old days,” he said. “We really thought that was something.”
He said he was surprised anyone donated in the first place - but the drive has continued to grow ever since.
The charity ride, which this year took place Dec. 10, begins at the Nitro Moose Lodge and ends at the Salvation Army, on Tennessee Avenue.
More than 100 bikers take part in the ride year after year - firing up their motorcycles and donating toys and money in the name of helping others.
But Dagostine is the man behind it all.
His only resemblance to Santa is his white hair and his deep belly laugh.
And he traded in a sleigh pulled by reindeer for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
But for the past 30 years, Dagostine has been Santa for hundreds of children in Kanawha, Putnam, Clay and Roane counties.
In years past, the toy run has raised more than $12,000 in donations and 8,000 toys. This year, the event brought in 4,634 toys and more than $12,000
Dagostine said the group has raised a total of nearly $200,000 and toys for the Salvation Army
But he doesn’t do it for recognition.
The Poca native does it to give back to those in need while having fun doing something he loves: riding motorcycles.
“We enjoy doing it for the kids, for people who don’t have anything,” he said. “It’s really something. When they pass all these toys out - that’s emotional.”
Through the Toy Run and other collection drives, the Salvation Army is able to give toys, clothes and other Christmas gifts to needy families each year. Officials with the Salvation Army said that’s largely because of Dagger’s Toy Run.
Dagostine has been riding motorcycles since the 1970s. He’s traveled thousands of miles from his home in the Charleston area on Harleys to bike weeks, other trips and his toy run.
He doesn’t know where or when exactly the nickname Dagger started - but it has clicked.
“Everybody calls me that,” he said, laughing.
Year after year, you’ll find Dagostine leading the pack of the 10- to 15-mile Toy Run. Even though he recently sold his motorcycle, he still leads the pack each December from his white pickup.
It might seem like an unlikely group - dozens of bikers led by a man named Dagger - but the group has a heart for giving back to those in need.
“Once you know that, it changes,” said Debbie Hicks, one of the event organizers.
Hicks and Dagostine begin planning as early as February for the next year’s event.
It’s become an entire community affair, too.
Despite temperatures in the low 20s, Dagostine said dozens of participants still came out for the 30th annual Toy Run earlier this month.
The procession of motorcycles, trucks and cars participating in the Toy Run has stretched as long as a mile and a half, he said.
Dozens of local businesses and clubs donate resources or food for the event, as well as toys and cash.
Businesses across the region also serve as Toy Drop Locations, filling up barrels with the Dagger’s Toy Run logo printed on them.
“It’s something that you just wouldn’t believe,” Dagostine said.
And it’s continuing to grow even more.
Hicks said the Salvation Army, as well as other groups, has expressed interest in setting out more collection barrels next year.
And the donations keep rolling in.
Dagostine said he often receives donations after the event, which he holds onto for the next year or gives to those in need who don’t receive gifts from the Salvation Army.
He can recall several stories of receiving phone calls about needy area families without any presents under the tree for Christmas.
All he has to do is dig in the back of his pickup and find the remaining donations to help others.
“That’s why we do this,” he said, smiling.
For more information about participating in the 31st annual Dagger’s Toy Run as a rider or driver, sponsor, to receive a collection barrel next year or to serve as a donor, contact Dagostine at 304-545-7376 (daytime) and 304-768-2278 (evenings).
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Information from: The Charleston Gazette-Mail, https://wvgazettemail.com.
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