Old motorcycle jackets have "the thermal properties a homeless person will appreciate", says ACT politician Jayson Hinder who will ride alongside 300 motorcyclists for the 35th annual Motorcycle Riders' Association ACT blanket run.
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The motorcyclists will take off from Old Parliament House on Saturday morning in a motorcade around the city to raise awareness for Canberrans without a home this winter.
The riders have called on fellow motorcyclists and the community to donate blankets, motorcycle jackets, non-perishable foods and money to go towards the homeless through the Salvation Army.
"Motorcycle jackets are ideally suited to sleeping rough in Canberra. Once it's been damaged it still does a good job for a homeless person, so it's a good idea to get that message out to riders," Mr Hinder said.
MRA ACT secretary Nicky Hussey said she was always overwhelmed by the generosity of the community and hoped to gather around 100 winter items and up to $3000 in donations.
"The blanket run is important for the community as, perhaps surprisingly, the ACT has a high incidence of homelessness," she said.
The 2011 census found the ACT had more than 1780 homeless or 50 people per 10,000. In comparison, NSW had 28,190 homeless (40.8 per 10,000) and Tasmania had 1580 homeless (31.9 per 10,000).
"Recent worries about the unaffordability of ACT housing mean that the next survey is likely to find that the rate of homelessness hasn't dropped," Ms Hussey said.
"We want to support the people like the Salvos who are the ones who provide practical assistance to (the homeless)."
Mr Hinder said it was a good opportunity for riders to show they cared for the community just as much as anyone else.
"There's a big difference between bikers and bikies and the vast majority of motorcycle riders are upstanding citizens," he said.
Planning minister Mick Gentleman said the MRA had been doing "a fantastic job" in getting motorcyclists involved in helping out "the most vulnerable people across the community".
"It's really good to show that other side of motorcycling and how they want to care for other people across Canberra," he said.
Ms Hussey said hosting events to help others in the community was one of the ways the MRA promoted motorcycling and a favourable image of riders on the roads.
"It helps us with road safety issues, so if people are aware of motorcyclists more because of the stuff that we do then hopefully they look out for us on the roads a little bit more. too," she said.
