A Boys and Girls Club of Lewis County event on Monday morning sent 36 local children home with free bikes.
But first, volunteers, family members and friends helped the young ones assemble them.
The Boys and Girls Club of Lewis County held its first ever bike building event starting at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. Over the next few hours, each young member of the Boys and Girls Club worked with a family member or volunteer to assemble a brand new bike.
The Home Depot Foundation helped make the event possible by donating all 36 bikes and also sending a team of volunteers, known as Team Depot, to help the children unpack and assemble their new bicycles.
The Boys and Girls Club of Lewis County chose the children who would receive a bike through a raffle that families and children from both Chehalis and Centralia were welcomed to enter. Ultimately, the organization selected 18 children from each community to receive a new bike.
Many of the children at the event remarked that the bike would be the first they have owned in their life.
Colors and sizes varied among the bikes depending on the size and skill level of the children involved. On the smaller end, children received a red bike with colorful lights and training wheels. On the larger side, others got blue and white bikes without training wheels and complete with bells.
After finally unboxing the bikes around 9:30 a.m. and getting to the building, the first of the children sat on their new bikes about an hour later as volunteers helped others continue their assembly.
In a statement provided ahead of the event, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Lewis County Sarah Althauser said the bike event supports the organization's mission by enabling young people to reach their potential.
“These bikes represent much more than transportation. They represent confidence, independence and a community that shows up for our kids,” Althauser said. “We are incredibly grateful to The Home Depot Foundation for investing in our youth and taking the time to be present with them in such a hands-on way.”
According to the local branch of the Boys and Girls Club, the organization serves more than 250 youths across Lewis County with programs available at two locations — one in Chehalis and another in Centralia.
The organization will soon have a third location for programs and events in the community with the construction of the United Learning Center along Pearl Street in downtown Centralia.
