Students at a Windsor elementary school now have bicycles for summer, thanks to a union local.
Unifor Local 444 completed its latest Bikes for Kids campaign when members dropped off over 60 bicycles Friday morning at Begley Public School. Bicycles of varying sizes and colours were lined up along the outer edge of the gymnasium floor, ready to be chosen by students selected by the school.
The Bikes for Kids program has been run by the local's community service committee since 2003. Sue Najem, the committee's chairperson, said all the bikes are either secondhand or refurbished with new parts, and each student gets a bonus item as well.
"The helmets have been donated by the Riverside Optimist Club and they've been partnering with us for many years," said Najem. "So each kid gets a bike that's been refurbished and they get a brand new helmet to go with it."
Local 444 president Dave Cassidy and other members were on hand to unveil the 1500th bike they have refurbished under the program. The bike was presented to a grade-five student along with gifts including a huge pizza party from Koolini's.
Grade five student Samuel Sainternie was one of the students getting a new bike and helmet. He said he was happy that he will no longer have to ride bikes belonging to friends of his.
"It's really good, actually," said Samuel. "It's kind of good and I like it. It helps a lot of people who don't have any bikes."
Konnor Harding, a Grade 5 student, grinned from ear to ear after trying out his new two-wheeler and said he was grateful for the helmet as well.
"So my head doesn't break right in half," said Konnor.
The local raises money for the Bikes for Kids initiative by holding a pasta fundraiser each spring. That raises money to buy the parts needed to fix the bikes that have been donated.
