ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Flushing American Legion Riders recently donated $10,500 to the Thomas Auto Center’s Military Freedom Tree.

The donation comes from the post’s eighth annual poker run held on the third weekend of June, a fundraising event to support the Freedom Tree.

The Freedom Tree benefits families of veterans in the Ohio Valley during each holiday season. The yearly fundraiser was founded by Robin and Robert Thomas in 2012 as a way to give back to the people who fought for Americans’ freedoms.

Flushing American Legion Riders Director Bruce Harris said that the first poker run only had 18 bikes, but this past event had more than 150 bikes.

“We, the riders, could not do this without the donations and help for our locals. We want to sincerely thank any and everyone for your support,” Harris said. “They do this on their own time to donate to local veteran families at Christmas time.”

He added that, in 2012, Robin and Robert Thomas helped three local families with toys, gift cards, blankets, and winter outerwear. Last year, the group helped 39 veteran families.

“This is not a charity, it’s our way of showing our appreciation for our freedom,” Robin Thomas said. “We need donations to target our teenagers, such as lotions, nail polish, etc.”

Donations can be dropped off at Thomas Jeep dealership which is located at 67791 Mall Rd. Robin Thomas said for veterans to sign up to receive items from the Freedom Tree to either contact the dealership at 740-695-0452 or her at 740-391-0377.

“We have a form that we fill out by phone. I get their information such as what branch of the military they were in, their address, phone number, and stuff like that,” she said. “I do everything by numbers, so there’s no names included. We try to be very discreet about it because some of them have so much pride.”

She added that she continues to do the Freedom Tree year after year because she believes that there’s no other way to thank the veterans that are in need of the help that the Freedom Tree provides.

“There’s no other way. To just say the words doesn’t mean nearly enough,” Robin Thomas said.

She added that the Freedom Tree doesn’t just accept monetary donations.

In addition to the various gifts it gives to the families, Robin Thomas said that each family will receive a Walmart gift card to use for anything they would want or need.

“They can use it for anything from medicine, groceries, toys, clothes. There’s not a whole lot of stores around here that has such a wide variety like Walmart,” she said.

She added that the gift card’s monetary value is based on how many members the family receiving the card has.

Harris said that 100% of the proceeds of his post’s poker run goes directly to the Freedom Tree.

He added that he believes the poker run has grown to become one of the largest poker runs in the Ohio Valley

Next year’s run will be on the third weekend in June and begin at the Wise building at the Belmont County Fairground. Harris encouraged all motorcycle riders in the Ohio Valley to attend next year’s event and thanked the community for its continued support.