As children most of us are taught that teamwork leads to success, and that was certainly the case this week, when several area organizations partnered to help ensure that 50 children in the Saucon Valley School District received a brand new bicycle for Christmas.
Stefanie Appel of the Allentown Rescue Mission explained that her organization played a role in the project, which was begun by the Waste Connections-owned Bethlehem Landfill more than a dozen years ago. The landfill is located in Lower Saucon Township, which along with Hellertown borough is part of the Saucon Valley School District.
“They have an annual tradition of buying and assembling bikes for kids in need,” Appel explained.
This year, she said the Bethlehem Landfill bought 50 bikes and enlisted the help of the Allentown Rescue Mission’s Clean Team Workforce–several of whom work part-time at the landfill–to assemble them.
“The guys were excited to make a child happy,” said Appel, who said three Clean Team members helped. “They talked about all the fun they could have bike riding.”
Adam S. of the Allentown Rescue Mission’s Clean Team Workforce gives two thumbs up as he assembles bikes purchased by the Bethlehem Landfill for 50 local kids whose families are in need this Christmas. The bikes were distributed to Saucon Valley students by Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township Police, brightening the holiday for them and their families.
Once assembled, officers from the Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township Police departments took over, distributing the bikes to the homes of students who were identified by school district officials as good recipients for the presents. The students attend kindergarten through 12th grade in Saucon Valley schools.
Thanks to this generous team effort, those children will have a happier holiday this year.
Bethlehem Landfill’s holiday donation of bicycles to Saucon Valley children is a tradition now in its 13th year, which means that hundreds of kids have been the recipient of the business’s generosity since it began. Pictured above, Adam S. of the Allentown Rescue Mission’s Clean Team Workforce assembles one of 50 bikes that were donated to local families this year.
