Bikers play Santa at psychiatric center

Fred Hartmann embraced his role as Santa Claus Sunday for an annual holiday charity event.

To complement the traditional costume of a plush red suit and white wig and beard, the 67-year-old Smithtown man added sunglasses, a leather vest and a shiny black motorcycle helmet as he led about 150 Harley-Davidson enthusiasts in a four-mile ride to deliver Christmas gifts to the Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center in Dix Hills.

The 80 motorcycles -- some with reindeer antlers clipped to the windshields and many laden with stuffed animals, board games and other toys -- were part of the Huntington Station-based Lighthouse Chapter of the Harley Owners Group's 10th annual holiday toy ride.

"It's pretty awesome, more so because we're able to give back and give to children," said the group's director, Bill Vultaggio, 59, of Massapequa, before he climbed onto his 2009 Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

As the pack roared up to the facility, where a large "Welcome bikers" sign was hung outside, some of the 65 participating children had their faces pressed up against the windows in anticipation.

The Sagamore facility's decade-old relationship with the bike group may seem incongruous, but it serves a greater purpose in teaching children to look beyond the surface, said the center's former executive director, Dennis Dubey.

"The kids get to see that the bikers aren't as tough as they look. Despite the leather, the chains and the beards, they're actually a bunch of softhearted people," Dubey said. "The kids themselves sometimes get treated a certain way by people who don't know them, so this is breaking through stereotypes."

Added Thomas McOlvin, the current executive director: "It shows the kids they can still be incredible people who do things for others, no matter how different they feel."

The bikers Sunday shared snacks and swapped stories with the children, ages 10 to 17, in the facility's gym.

"It feels great just to see the smiles on their faces," said Patrick Donohue, 62, of St. James, who had a green-and-red-striped elf hat to go with his 1997 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic. "It feels fabulous."