The White County chapter of the ABATE organization will be holding a Motorcycle Show on Saturday, June 9 at Berryhill Park in Searcy beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding with the trophy presentation at 1 p.m.

ABATE (Arkansas Bikers Aiming Towards Education) will be donating all the proceeds from the event to Jacob's Place Homeless Mission.

“About five years ago, we were brainstorming about fundraising,” said former Jacob's Place board member and current ABATE member Greg Mitsunaga. “We had the idea that motorcycle shows are a great way to get your name out there and reach people that you wouldn't normally reach.

“Some of these bikers have great stories to tell and several of them, at one time or another, have been homeless before. It's only recently that they have become financially stable enough to afford a motorcycle.”

Jacob's Place was established in January 2007 to service families in need of temporary shelter in the Searcy area and exists today at 301 East Market Street.

Mitsunaga said one of the purposes of this event is to change the public perception of both motorcyclists and the homeless.

“Our goal is about image changing,” he said. “Not all homeless are bad people, sometimes life just gets hard. One day you could be doing just fine and the next have a major medical issue that causes you to financially lose everything.

“We also want to change the view from bikers to 'motorcyclists'. We believe strongly in family values and want to use events like this to promote that side of these groups.”

This is the first motorcycle show for the two organizations since 2010 and Mitsunaga said they have already exceeded expectations.

“We've already been collecting funds for this show,” he said. “Several businesses have donated early and our total has quickly reached $500 already.

“Our goal is to always earn $1 more than they had before. I would like to see $1,000 given to Jacob's Place but consider this event a success even though we haven't started the show yet.”

The Jacob's Place Motorcycle Show is family friendly fun for all ages and is FREE to spectators. Entry fee for your motorcycle in the People's Choice Judging contest is only $10.

In addition to motorcycles, First Security Bank will be on hand selling hot dogs and soft drinks (all proceeds also going to Jacob's Place) and live music all day.

For more information on the motorcycle show or how you can support Jacob's Place, please call Greg Mitsunaga at 501-827-8822.