11th annual United Way Build a Bike sees 600 bikes built for local children

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania held its 11th annual Build A Bike event over three days this week, assembling 600 bikes for children and tapping the power of 300 volunteers.

“It goes beyond the two wheels, into the classroom” said Amy Franz, United Way regional vice president, highlighting the social, emotional and physical benefits of owning a bicycle at a young age.

“Kids today do not have the growing-up experience we had,” she said.

Fifteen United Way employees and nearly 100 volunteers met at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township on Thursday to assemble 200 bikes for elementary-age children in Westmoreland and Fayette counties.

Similar events took place this week in Cranberry Township Community Park and Millvale Riverfront Park.

Safety was the name of the game and despite the extreme heat, United Way employees were determined to ensure the success of their 11-year-old bike donation event. Tents, water coolers and other measures were put in place for roughly 20 teams of volunteers each of the three days.

Franz warned volunteers Thursday not to leave bikes in the sun after seeing several tires pop in Cranberry on Wednesday.

The heat that neared 90 degrees didn’t stop the volunteers at Mammoth Park, who were eager to get to work.

“Once you do the first one, they seem to flow much better,” said LaDawn Yesho, a volunteer who is chief risk officer at S&T Bank in Indiana. Franz likened the teams to “their own version of an assembly line.”

Yesho has been bringing her colleagues to volunteer with Build a Bike for five years. She said the 15 members of the three S&T teams are very risk-oriented and good with technical details, even though there is no time limit or competition for bike building.

Dirk Matson, of the West­moreland County local operating board for the United Way, reflected on the importance of biking in his childhood.

“We were on our bikes every day. Bikes meant so much to us,” he said.

This year was his first year volunteering at Build a Bike, but he has a long history with United Way, going back to his time leading Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Bikes go to multiple counties

The bikes, once built, will be shipped to community partners across United Way’s service area in Armstrong, Butler, Allegheny, Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Each is checked for safety and reliability by United Way’s bike experts before delivery.

Jesse Sprajcar, United Way director of regional impact initiatives, served as one of the five bike experts at Mammoth Park. He explained that, together, the bike experts check the tire pressure, handlebars and seats on every bike.

“We want every kid to get a high-quality bike,” Sprajcar said. The bikes, which will be delivered with a helmet, lock and safety tag, will go to local families who may not have the ability to purchase bikes for their children.

This year’s Build a Bike was sponsored by West Penn Power, Highmark Health, Ebara Elliott Energy and FedEx. United Way welcomed as many returning volunteers as it did first-timers.