Doris Davies bike giveaway brings holiday joy to children in Victorville
If a smile can light up a room, then children who attended the 19th annual Doris Davies Memorial Bicycle Giveaway on Wednesday could power the entire High Desert.
The charitable spirit of the late Doris Davies was alive and well during the Christmas-themed celebration and bicycle giveaway at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville.
“Mom, mom! Look at my new bike!” exclaimed one little girl, who excitedly walked her purple, pink and white bicycle back to her family. “It’s so cool. It even has a helmet.”
During the event, over 155 bikes were given away to local children from 26 schools in the Victor Elementary School District as part of the annual event hosted by the nonprofit Benefit Everyone, Assist Recreation and Sports (B.E.A.R.S.) group.
Over 700 people attended the bicycle giveaway, including holiday treats, Doo-Wah Riders country band music, and photo opportunities with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
Officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff’s Explorers were at the celebration to meet with families and to wish them season’s greetings.
The Sheriff’s Culinary Team from the High Desert Detention Center drew a hungry crowd as they served cookies, cupcakes, and brownies.
“The bike giveaway is a wonderful event, and it’s part of the legacy that Doris Davies left the Victor Valley,” B.E.A.R.S. Treasurer Reuel Herron told the Daily Press. “We’re beyond happy to continue her legacy, which is all about doing stuff for our kids.”
Herron added that seeing so many children in one place exhibit joy after receiving a new bicycle was wonderful.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered the bikes to schools,” Herron said. “It’s nice to get a group like this —with all the parents, teachers, law enforcement, and volunteers —coming together to make children happy.”
Herron praised Victorville Mayor Debra Jones, VESD Superintendent Lori Clark, and former Mayor Terry Caldwell for their participation and support.
B.E.A.R.S. President Angela Komar said the Doo-Wah Riders have been mainly the B.E.A.R.S’ most prominent supporters and have collected money as the band tours the nation.
“The Doo-Wah Riders have raised nearly $100,000 since 2015,” Herron said. “They’ve been supporting the bike giveaway since the early 2000s, back when Doris was alive.”
The annual bike giveaway is sponsored by the Doris Davies B.E.A.R.S, the City of Victorville, the Sheriff’s Department, VESD, Doo-Wah-Riders, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons Victorville.
Doris Davies
Doris Davies was known for her feisty, playful exterior and generous spirit.
She led a colorful life working as a lifeguard, a roller derby queen in Madison Square Garden, a swimming performer in a New York water show, a horsewoman, an accountant, and a physical education teacher at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Apple Valley.
Davies once had a tiger cub and a monkey as pets. And with brash audacity and a wicked sense of humor, she was nearly 80 when she entered a Miss Budweiser swimsuit competition — and won.
Doris and Cliff Davies came to the High Desert in 1952 and became active in the community.
In 1980, Cliff and Doris Davies and a few friends started the Bad News Bears. Four years later, the nonprofit Benefit Ball Games began raising funds to help local children by purchasing equipment for schools and parks.
Over the next 20 years, the group would purchase bleachers, backstops, drinking fountains, and playground equipment.
In 2004, Davies met City of Victorville officials to discuss a joint venture. A year later, the association was incorporated, and the name changed to Benefit Everyone, Assist Recreation and Sports, or B.E.A.R.S.
During her time in the High Desert, she was a physical education teacher at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Apple Valley and a community volunteer.
She organized Victorville’s first “Youth Accountability Board” to help kids who would have gone into the juvenile court system but instead came before this board so they could repay their debt to society with community service and erase their criminal record.
The youth program dramatically lightened the Juvenile Probation Department and Juvenile Court System load.
She was a Sheriff’s Department Citizens on Patrol member for more than 19 years and enjoyed participating in the DUI task force traffic stops.
Davies was also a board member of the SBC Fair for more than 20 years and supported the junior livestock auction by purchasing the animals from local children in this area.
Doris Davies Park in Victorville and the Doris Davies Kids Complex at the SBC Fairgrounds are tokens of her accomplishments.
Davies was 87 when she died in 2009. She left behind instructions that her estate would benefit the community’s children.
For more information on the bike giveaway or to donate to B.E.A.R.S., call 760-245-5551.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Doris Davies bike giveaway brings holiday joy to Victorville
