“BIKERS FOR BABIES” OF THE MOVING VIOLATIONS MOTORCYCLE CLUB!

This week’s CHAMPions are the women of the Moving Violations Motorcycle Club of Boston, popularly known as the “Bikers for Babies”. They were nominated for their volunteer work with the Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast and their heroic rescue of 1,000 ounces of donated breast milk following power outage from Tropical Storm Isaias in Connecticut.

Moving Violations Motorcycle Club launched the Bikers for Babies program in 2018. The club consists of 90 active members, 18 of whom are Bikers for Babies volunteers. “When we heard about the efforts of the Sirens, our sister organization in New York City, our club president presented the idea to the Milk Bank in Newton and they thought it was great! We were really impressed to discover the work that milk banks do and we are enthusiastic to volunteer,” shared Daryll Drew, Moving Violations and Mothers’ Milk Bank Liaison

Although the Bikers for Babies have a lot of awesome stories from their breast milk transportation activities, they recently received a lot of well-deserved publicity for their efforts during the Tropical Storm Isaias. In the aftermath of the storm this August, a power outage throughout Connecticut left about 1,000 ounces of donated breast milk at risk of thawing. The Glastonbury milk depot staff were desperate to save the batch of milk, and so they reached out to the Bikers for Babies to help. When the bikers arrived, they along with Dr. Alvarez, an obstetrician and fellow biker, loaded up their motorcycles and transported the milk from Glastonbury, CT to Newton, MA.

When asked about the effect of COVID on their ability to pick-up donated breast milk from families and deliver them to the Milk Bank, Daryll shared that they now have limited interactions with people throughout the process and adhere to social distancing and masking measures. “Before COVID, we used to get a bit more interaction with the families. We are friendly and professional, and sometimes we will interact with their other children if they show interest in the bikes and if the parents are open to it. COVID has certainly changed that! But I am glad we are able to continue to help out whenever possible.”

The availability of pasteurized donor milk is more important now than ever and we thank the Bikers for Babies of the Moving Violations Club for their efforts to pick up and preserve donor breast milk, so it reaches the families in need.
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