ALTAMONT — The Helderberg American Legion Riders Post 977 will hold its fifth annual poker run fundraiser this Saturday, Aug. 26. The proceeds from the ride will be donated to veterans’ organizations in the Capital Region.

The run is an illustration of the legion’s core mission of mutual helpfulness and is one way Post 977 gives back to veterans. In the run’s first year, 120 riders raised $10,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project. Subsequent runs have raised funds for Soldier On, a private not-for-profit organization that helps homeless veterans, and to help individual veterans directly.

Steve Oliver, president of Post 977 and a 10-year Navy veteran, said that initially the legion gave money to national groups because local groups were not properly vetted. Now, after vetting, this year’s run will support local groups like the Albany Housing Coalition for Homeless Vets, Woofs for Warriors Project for PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, Leatherstocking Honor Flight, Victoria Acres Equine Facility, and the American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund. (See related letter to the editor.)

The ride begins at the Voorheesville firehouse at 12 Altamont Road in Voorheesville and ends at the American Legion Post at 988 Altamont Blvd. in Altamont.

Participants in the poker run will stop at various checkpoints and be given a playing card by one of the members of the Legion Auxiliary, explained volunteer Hellen Wager; the rider with the best poker hand at the end of the run is declared the winner.

Following the death of an experienced rider during last year’s run, safety is major concern for the riders. Guidelines will be handed to participants with instructions for the distance between riders as well as limits on how fast they can travel. A truck and trailer follows the run in case of a breakdown. And police escorts have been used when riders pass through large intersections.

The public’s safety is also taken into consideration. Members of Post 977 will drop leaflets in the neighborhood letting residents know that the run will be taking place, said Wager.

Over a hundred riders participate in the run. It is Post 977’s largest annual fundraiser. Oliver said that, between outside donations and participating riders, last year’s run raised $30,000.

Registration for the ride will be from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Voorheesville firehouse, with the ride beginning at 11 a.m. The cost is $25 per person.