YDU Continues Cycling Initiative with Bike Giveaway at Stetser Elementary School

Youth Development United is dedicated to helping under-served children increase their access to wellness. Cycling is a life sport that not only provides opportunity for physical activity but also a green and sustainable form of transportation that can be both practical and uplifting to the spirit.

YDU began its cycling initiative in November 2022 and has given away over 200 bicycles to the children of Greater Chester since then. The organization collects donated bikes within Delaware and Montgomery Counties. They are then restored to safe riding condition by Mike Minor, a Chester native and bike expert.

Yesterday, the program continued with a bike giveaway to the children in YDU’s Soccer for Success program at Chester Upland School District’s Stetser Elementary School.

Site Director and Stetser teacher Jody Zamonski announced and ran the raffle with her excellent classroom management skills, assisted by the site’s Soccer for Success Coach-Mentors Freeman Dwamena, Morgan Micciche and Ashley Serrano. The students cheered wildly for each other as names were called. One girl who already owned a bike gave her winning raffle to a friend who didn’t have one. When the raffle concluded, the Coach-Mentors and children began their soccer training with renewed enthusiasm.

Over 20 bikes were raffled off, thanks to the coordination by volunteers Kim Schmucki, Ron Evans and Widener University occupational therapy students Casey Orange, Elizabeth Ohaegbu and Chelsey Szuttor. Helmets were also provided at no charge thanks to the Widener University physical therapy department; the donation was coordinated by Program Director Dr. Adrienne Pinckney and Administrative Support Specialist Kimberly Rae.

Other supporters of YDU’s cycling initiative include the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Boeing, CycleFit, Swarthmore Hardware, Swarthmore Recreation Association and the Circuit Trails Coalition Community Grant Program, funded by the William Penn Foundation and administered by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC). The Circuit Trails is a vast regional network of hundreds of miles of multi-use trails across nine counties in Greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. The trail network, which will cover 800 miles once complete, connects urban, suburban, and rural communities, providing endless opportunities for recreation, relaxing, and commuting.