W.Va. Children’s Home receives bicycle donation
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ELKINS -- A concentrated effort from two organizations and one local business provided residents of the West Virginia Children's Home with brand new bicycles for the youth to enjoy throughout the upcoming summer months.
After learning the fleet of bicycles at the Children's Home had essentially turned their last wheel, Fraternal Order of Police Seneca Trail Lodge Chairman of Trustees Mike Pizzino started putting together a plan to help get bikes for the eight residents at the home.
"I went to the Elkins Walmart first and met with manager Scott Staats," said Pizzino. "They (Walmart) have helped us in the past with our FOP Christmas parties, so I told Scott that I had eight kids at the Children's Home that we'd like to get new bicycles for. He told me he would hel and donated two of the eight bikes we needed."
Pizzino said he then went to the two organizations he is a part of, the FOP and the Tygart Valley Lions Club, to seek help in purchasing the other six bikes. Fellow TVLC member Andy Swecker originally told Pizzino about the bike situation at the WVCH.
"I went to a Fraternal Order of Police meeting and asked if we could do a combined project with the Tygart Valley Lions Club to get the bikes," he said. "The FOP agreed to donate money for three bicycles and I went to the Lions Club asking for the same thing and they also agreed to help out. So that's how we wound up with eight brand new bicycles for the kids."
On Wednesday, members of the Fraternal Order of Police and Tygart Valley Lions Club delivered the bikes to WVCH residents.
"Both organizations that I'm a part of are always looking for ways to help the kids in the community," said Pizzino. "The kids were extremely excited to get the bicycles and before we even left the children's home from delivering them, they were grabbing helmets and riding around the parking lot. It was nice to see a bunch of young kids happy and having fun."
Pizzino said both of the organizations he's a part of plans on working more with WVCH residents in the future.
"The kids at the Children's Home are wanting to do some community service, so we are going to have them help us with some of our upcoming events," said Pizzino.