Volunteers assemble 100 bikes for children during event in Mt. Pleasant Township

A group of about 60 volunteers assembled bikes for children in need Wednesday at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township as part of United Way’s build-a-bike event.

The volunteers came from five of United Way’s corporate partners, including Live! Casino Pittsburgh, Kennametal, UPS, Hefren-Tillotson and West Penn Power, according to Alyssa Cholodofsky, Westmoreland region director for United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“We gathered up all of our staff to come out here and help put together the bikes,” said Doug Haniford, advertising and public relations manager with Live! Casino. “The children have had a tough year with covid.”

Cholodofsky said the volunteers were split into 10 teams of five or six for the assembly of 100 bikes in just two hours.

“Sometimes, kids don’t have the opportunity to have their own bike that their family can purchase for them, so we’re just excited to be able to provide these,” Cholodofsky said. “I’m sure we’ll be making a lot of kids smile.”

Though build-a-bike itself isn’t a new event, this year was United Way’s first time hosting one in Westmoreland County. On Thursday and Friday, United Way will bring build-a-bike to Butler and Allegheny counties, respectively, to assemble another 100 bikes per day for a grand total of 300.

“This is the perfect day to come out and build bikes to help the area children,” Haniford said. “I think, particularly this year, it’s (going to) mean a lot more because a lot of the kids have been in their house and unable to get out and participate in a lot of the outdoor activities that they normally would do in the summertime.”

Volunteers received rectangular boxes containing the bikes, which they worked together to assemble on large tarps covering the grass. Afterward, the bikes were inspected before they were sent to kids in Westmoreland and Fayette counties Wednesday afternoon.

Specifically, the bikes were sent to the Ligonier Valley YMCA, Learning Lamp, Greensburg YMCA, Fayette County Children and Youth Services, Merakey, East End Community Center, Uniontown YMCA, Derry Area School District and YMCA of Laurel Highlands, Cholodofsky said.

“This is a wonderful event,” said Andrea Bortoluzzi, consultant with corporate affairs and community involvement at the First Energy Corporation, West Penn Power’s parent company. “I think (the kids are) going to be overjoyed — they’re going to get brand new bikes.”

According to Cholodofsky, each child will receive a bike along with a helmet, lock and bike maps courtesy of Bike Pittsburgh.

“I think it means a lot,” Cholodofsky said. “For some, it’s probably their first bike — they may not even have learned how to ride a bike.”

Wendy Koch, director of volunteer engagement at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, said there’s a “definite need” in the area.

“In many cases, these bikes are the first things that a child may own, and so to be able to have a bike that they can call their very own is really very special,” Koch said. “I’m sure it’s a sense of freedom, a sense of independence (and) a sense of pride.”

Koch said United Way works with agency partners who are able to identify kids the “most in need” of the bikes.

“For every agency that we put on the list, there (are) 10 agencies that weren’t able to make the list to get the bikes,” Koch said. “There’s definitely a need and a desire to get these new bikes to children.”