Some local children will find brand new bicycles under the tree this Christmas thanks to the collaborative effort of Richland Bank, Richland Young Professionals (RYP), and Shelby Bicycle Days. The organizations worked together for Spokes4Kids Community Challenge, and on Tuesday, representatives from those groups visited the Ontario Walmart to purchase bicycles for children in need with money raised by the event.
“We approached Richland Bank to partner with us on [Spokes4Kids]. They basically covered all the costs of the event so that everyone’s entry fee would go to the cost of these bikes. That’s how we’re buying the bikes tonight,” said Cody Albert, Shelby Bicycle Days co-director and member of RYP.
During this year’s Shelby Bicycle Days, the Spokes4Kids event made its debut and saw teams from local businesses and organizations compete. Those teams paid admission fees that went directly to the Spokes4Kids fund to purchase bicycles for children in need. The fees, combined with support from Wal-Mart, totaled $1250, which purchased 21 bicycles.
“That’s going to be 21 happy kids,” said Nicole Lewis, Richland Bank Management Associate and Richland Young Professionals Membership Chair.
“It’s really exciting to be able to do something like this this year. It’s the first time we’ve really kind of given back which is unique, I think, for a festival. We’re excited to be able to do that,” said Albert.
Tuesday’s shopping crew consisted of Lewis and Albert as well as Christina Thompson, co-director of Shelby Bicycle Days and RYP secretary; Emily Keinath, RYP member and member of the Shelby Bicycle Days Planning Committee; Maribeth McFarland, RYP member and member of the Shelby Bicycle Days Planning Committee; and Amy Lewis, RYP treasurer and member of the Shelby Bicycle Days Planning Committee. RYP Vice President Jessica Gribben was also on hand with her 8-year-old son, Jacob, who personally tested many of the bikes. Walmart Assistant Manager Anessta Martin played the role of helper elf as she assisted the group in selecting, pricing, and retrieving the bikes.
As the collection of bicycles to purchase grew, Lewis said, “This is exciting. It’s nice to see it all come together after all the hard work.”
Several Walmart shoppers stopped to ask about the many bikes as the group maneuvered to customer service. One bystander commented that he was moved to tears over the generosity shown by the group. “You don’t get people like that anymore. You don’t get people that throw themselves into the community. Thank you all for doing this,” he said.
To distribute the bicycles, the group selected charities based on where each team was from, thereby spreading them over Richland County, said Albert. “The bulk of them will go to Shelby Help Line, and they will distribute them for us through their regular toy distribution at Christmas,” he explained.
Lewis noted that she had reached out to four other agencies in the last few days, including the Butler Clearfork Adult Center, which will distribute via their Giving Tree. Friendly House, Lexington Child Development Center, and Lucas Schools will also help distribute Christmas cheer in the form of new bikes.
Albert noted that Walmart had been a huge help and well as other local businesses, and the support was greatly appreciated.
“Walmart’s been a partner for years,” said Albert. “They contributed not only to the purchases tonight, but they also contributed to the Kid’s Bike Clinic with a grant to help purchase helmets and we held a helmet fitting for kids in the community during the festival.”
Albert said that the Spokes4Kids event would indeed be an annual one.
“We had a great turnout,” he said, noting there were 8 teams with five members each. The team from MTD Products of Shelby took home the gold – a gold bicycle wheel – while RYP’s own team took home the silver.
“Walmart’s been a partner for years,” said Cody Albert. “They contributed not only to the purchases tonight, but they also contributed to the Kid’s Bike Clinic with a grant to help purchase helmets…”
