Dozens of bikes — from mountain bikes to tricycles to beach cruisers — lined the lawn of the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park the morning of June 5. As the temperature climbed into the 90s, volunteers from across the University of Pennsylvania Health System, including The Trauma Center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Penn Medicine CAREs, and Philadelphia’s 16th Police District prepared to match nearly 80 bikes — all donated by Penn Medicine employees — with children from West Philadelphia.
The donation event came after months of coordination and planning, led by Sunny Jackson, MSN, RN, CNL, TCRN, CCRN, injury prevention coordinator at Penn Presbyterian, and Bridget Abdalla, CMA, a staff assistant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division.
During a previous volunteer event this winter, Jackson learned from Police Officer Jennifer Decky that many of the children in West Philadelphia didn’t even have access to bikes. “Having a bike is such an integral part of childhood, and I wanted to share that joyful experience with the community,” Jackson said. “So many members of Penn Medicine’s staff have bikes that their kids have outgrown just sitting in their garages. I thought this would be a perfect way to take them off their hands.”
In partnership with Community Relations Manager Laura Lombardo, who runs the Penn Medicine CAREs grant program, Jackson spread the word among Penn Medicine employees, and spent months picking up and transporting bikes. VeloJawn, a local bike shop, provided repairs to all the bikes to ensure they were safe for new recipients to ride.
In addition to a new bike, kids from the West Philadelphia community received a helmet donated by the Pennsylvania Division of the American Trauma Society, and a lock. They also received bike safety training from Philadelphia Police’s Bike Patrol.
After bikes were collected, the 16th Police District worked with community partners — such as schools and churches — to get the word out. Each recipient was chosen based on their height and available bikes, to ensure a perfect fit.
Naomi, 8, received her first bike without training wheels, and a pink helmet. “I’m most excited about the basket and the bell,” she noted, referring to the accessories that adorned her new bike. Her father, Chris, learned about the donation event from their neighbor, a teacher.
David, 10, said he is most excited to ride his new green bike up hills in his neighborhood. His mother, Lowell, first heard about the bike donations from her pastor. “This is great because while I want David to be able to have a bike to ride, he outgrows the bikes I get him so fast I can’t keep up!” she said.
“It’s important for Penn Medicine to not only serve patients, but also our community,” Lombardo said. “We’re proud to support our employees’ passion for giving back to our neighbors, especially after such a difficult past year.”
In addition to bikes, volunteers also collected monetary donations from Penn Medicine staff to pay for locks and repairs. The remaining funds were donated to Neighborhood Bike Works, a local organization dedicated to providing equitable access to bicycling and bike repair through education, recreation, leadership, and career-building opportunities.
This was the first bike donation event by Penn Medicine and the 16th Police District.