Bayhealth hosts Free Bikes 4 Kidz volunteer event

Bayhealth employees volunteered their time on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service to assemble bicycles donated for the first Free Bikes 4 Kidz event in Delaware.

FB4K is a nonprofit organization geared toward helping all kids ride into a happier, healthier childhood by providing donated bikes to those most in need. Bayhealth partnered with the organization to help bring community members and resources together to give local, underserved kids access to their first bikes.

Bayhealth Chief Wellness Officer Dr. Tom Vaughan was approached by FB4K in December, and within a few weeks, was able to establish a FB4K Delaware chapter.

“It's so important to encourage an active lifestyle starting at a young age,” said Vaughan. “We know that physical inactivity among children and youth puts them at a higher risk for many health conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes – all of which are very high in our state and our local communities in particular.”

More than 115 volunteers from Bayhealth, corporate and nonprofit partners including Delaware State University, and the greater community gathered at Blue Hen Corporate Center in Dover to assemble over 300 bikes donated by Kent Bicycles. Bayhealth is partnering with local charities to identify low-income and underserved children without bicycles in area communities.

Bayhealth plans to host additional FB4K Delaware activities in the months ahead, including giveaway events where the bikes will be distributed to the identified kids in need.

“We look forward to hosting more volunteers at future events and ultimately to giving underserved kids in central and southern Delaware a set of wheels and helmet to ride into a happier, healthier childhood,” said Vaughan.

To learn more or sign up as a volunteer, go to Bayhealth.org/fb4k.