About 150 kids tried on helmets and practiced balancing on a bike for the first time today. This afternoon, local kids were given brand new bicycles, as part of the annual "Bikes for Brains" giveaway at the King Center in Rock Island.
Organizer Sandy Seeley-Copley says five agencies raised $9,000 to purchase 150 bikes, and the Pilot Club of Moline donated $1,000 for helmets. Head Start in Rock Island, the Early Childhood Centers, and the Project in Moline help choose the eligible children. None of them have owned a bike before.
She purchases the bikes from Walmart, which puts them together for free. And it takes about 20 minutes to transport them all to the King Center, thanks to a donated 18-wheeler truck.
Seeley-Copley says "Bikes for Brains" started about 15 years ago, when her salon, Queen's Parlor in Moline, and Bike n' Hike in Rock Island teamed up to give 25 bikes away.