For the eighth consecutive year, some 1,300 underprivileged kids in an Akron neighborhood experienced the Christmas spirit first-hand with the gift of a new bicycle, thanks to non-profit organization Elves and More of Northeastern Ohio, the Akron Police Department and a host of local businesses, including local trucking company, Con-way Freight.
Con-way Freight's tractor trailers played the part of Santa's Sleigh recently, rolling into an impoverished Akron neighborhood on a Sunday morning and surprising children there with a delivery of 1,300 new bicycles — all given away as gifts. Elves and More and its volunteers fitted the bikes to each child, also providing safety helmets, tricycles for younger children and gift boxes for infants.
The organization has come a long way from its first surprise delivery in 2006, when it assembled and gave away 400 bikes, noted Elves and More Founder Tim House. "Everyone remembers their first bike. For me personally, it represented freedom and opportunity," said House. "When we started Elves and More, we wanted to give local, underprivileged kids the joy of owning a bike, and to bring neighborhoods together to support those children as they grow up."
House coordinates a team of partners to bring Elves and More to life, including the Akron Police Department, the Akron Children's Hospital, foundations in the Akron area and local businesses. Con-way Freight became involved through House's childhood friend, Joe Caliri, a long-time employee of Con-way Freight in Akron. "My buddy, Joe Caliri is a truck driver. He and I grew up poor in the Akron neighborhoods we deliver to now. When I started this project eight years ago, he and Con-way Freight immediately stepped up and helped make it possible."
Con-way Freight donates its trucking services to ship the bikes across country and deliver them in time for Christmas. Its local employees also volunteer for the annual "bike build" event the weekend before, when hundreds of volunteers come together and spend a day assembling the bikes.
