TRURO - Fifty-nine more youngsters throughout Colchester County now have their own wheels, thanks to the United Way of Colchester County's annual Bikes for Kids program.
"It was great, we had an amazing response from the community, both donating bikes and for families registering their children," United Way executive director Jennifer Spicer said.
"We were able to fill all the applications that we received, which is wonderful."
Demand for this year's program surpassed the 2011 effort when 45 bikes were distributed through the program.
And a last-minute call for donations for smaller bikes produced a bounty that will give the program a head start for next year, Spicer said.
"We have loads of smaller bikes, which is great because any of them left over we can store them and have them ready for the program next year."
Bikes for Kids collects donated bikes from members in the community and then has volunteers tune them up for allocation to families who register for the program.
In 13 years of running the program, the United Way has produced bicycles for 719 children who otherwise didn't have one.
"The amount of donated bikes was wonderful and the children who received the bikes were thrilled to have a new sense of independence that comes from having their own bike," Spicer said.
This year's program sponsors included the Debert Home Hardware Distribution Centre, Canadian Tire, Kohltech International Inc., Truro Alliance Church and The Snook Group.
Aggregate Equipment provided moving and storage services for the bikes.
