Bike Build's Sixth Annual Holiday Push
Hundreds of Santa's Helpers to Build 2,400 Bikes for Needy Kids in
Santa Clara County on Saturday, December 11, 2010

Once-only visual - Corporate Execs racing BMXers on tricycle!

Visuals:
11:00 a.m. - The Great Tricycle Race - a grueling competition mounted on tricycles where competitors will try to defeat professional BMX Athlete and X Games Gold medalist Ryan Nyquist.
8:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. - The Convention Center's South Hall begins to resemble Santa's Workshop as volunteers scramble to assemble bicycles following the starter's whistle at approximately 9:00 a.m. As the day progresses, the area becomes a sea of bikes!
11:00 a.m. - CityTeam Ministries is partnering to bring 20-30 children who will participate in the bike building and be fitted for bikes and helmets.
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Bikes as far as the eye can see during the height of the day's activities.

Why:
TurningWheels for Kids provides free bikes for children in need, to support better physical and emotional well-being. The program serves low-income children who are at high risk for obesity and related health issues and whose families do not have the means to support an active lifestyle that includes regular exercise.

TurningWheels for Kids was the vision of Susan Runsvold, a nurse manager at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, who wanted to buy bikes at Christmas and give them to underprivileged children; children she believed might otherwise not receive any present from Santa. Runsvold began what she hoped would be a tradition of collecting money from her friends and colleagues to purchase as many bikes as possible for holiday distribution. To date, TurningWheels for Kids has raised nearly $900,000, and it has recently started to visit local neighborhoods to assist with and teach children routine maintenance of the bikes. Thanks to two individual donors who pay all modest administrative fees, 100 percent of all donations go to buying bikes and helmets.

Each year, the bikes are bought in bulk, costing on average $85 for a bike and helmet, and are built by hundreds of volunteers coming together for one day of group bike construction, with thousands of children receiving a brand new bike and safety helmet.

For more information, visit www.turningwheelsforkids.org.