To the rescue East Beth police, bikers provide bicycles to kids in need
Arie, 6, is all smiles after receiving a new bicycle from the East Bethlehem Township Police Department and Bikers Helping Others.
Ten-year-old Annie poses on her new bicycle.
Armani, 11, shows off her new bicycle.
Those who delivered bicycles to children in Frederick Terrace were, from left, East Bethlehem Township police Chief Mark Pompe, Sgt. William Cramer and David Sethman of Bikers Helping Others.
Sgt. William Cramer of the East Bethlehem Police Department poses with a group of Girl Scouts after helping members of the troop earn their detective badges.
East Bethlehem Township police officers are no strangers to the residents of their community, and during one of his frequent rides through Frederick Terrace in Fredericktown, Sgt. William Cramer was stopped and asked a favor.
“I go up there a lot. A lot of them, I know their faces, and they know me as well,” Cramer said. “The day I went up there, everybody was out. Some people came up to me about donations, and asked if I found any bikes in the neighborhood.”
It seems, he said, that a few youngsters could use a bike during their summer vacation.
“In the past, we’ve had one or two bikes we would find on the side of the road and Ten Mile Park. We would put them outside the police station with a free sign,” said Cramer, explaining why he was asked about the bikes in the first place.
Well, Cramer – much to the delight of young and old alike – did a little better than find a few used bikes.
He found Bikers Helping Others, who delivered on their promise to provide bicycles to the youngsters, with members purchasing a total of 12 bicycles.
“The kids were thrilled,” Cramer said. “Some were a little skittish. Half were foster kids, and their upbringing and how they were raised … they couldn’t believe you were giving them something and not asking for something in return.
“Some parents became very emotional when they saw the excitement in the children’s eyes.”
Bikers Helping Others, who are based in Fredericktown, became involved with community outreach by providing Thanksgiving dinner to a family in Fayette City.
“We did a complete grocery order, and their water was about to get shut off, so we paid their water bill,” said David Sethman, one of six members that comprise Bikers Helping Others. “We started out with that one little wish. We said, ‘Why don’t we just make an organization and just help others?'”
At Christmas, they were able to provide dinner and toys for four families and 11 children.
“This is all just word of mouth,” Sethman said. “Over Christmas we needed toys. We put it on Facebook.”
The response, he said, was phenomenal. The owner of Hey Juicy in Belle Vernon was having a Christmas party, and she asked each guest to bring a toy.
“She put on one heck of a party,” Sethman said. “The toys we got were unbelievable.”
Then, the bikers decided to purchase bicycles and give them to children who don’t have any. They asked their co-workers for monetary donations, and before long, they had accumulated $2,000.
“We’re sitting on all this and no way to get rid of them,” Sethman said. “We thought summer’s here. These little kids, instead of getting in trouble, let’s give them a bicycle.”
Enter the East Bethlehem Township Police Department, which came to the rescue and supplied a list of names of children without bicycles.
“We do all the shopping,” Sethman said. “What actually happened was there was a young man who needed a bicycle. We had one for him, but all of this is done sight unseen. I looked at him and said, ‘Bud, this bicycle will not work. It will be too small for you. Stand right here. I’ll go get you another one.'”
He and his wife, Janeen, immediately went to Walmart and bought the boy a mountain bike.
“There was another little girl, and I said, ‘Honey, do you have a bike?’ She said, ‘Yes, but it doesn’t have training wheels so I can’t ride it,'” Sethman said.
He and his wife picked up a bike for her, too.
Valerie Canigiani said Bikers Helping Others are “shocked” by the response they have received.
“We just thought we’re a little group of bikers, and we’ll do what we could,” she said. “The response has been unbelievable.”
Added Sethman, “You don’t realize how many kids have nothing until you put it out there.”
Bikers Helping Others recently applied for 501(c)3 status so they can extend their reach. In addition to the Sethmans and Canigiani, other members include Jeff Dibel, Billy Rupert and Shelley Stewart.
“We do good for six people,” Canigiani said. “When we set out with a project, go nonstop everyday.”
The bicycle giveaway wasn’t the first outreach for the East Bethlehem police department, either, although they have never done anything “to the extent of what we did with the bicycles,” Cramer said.
At Halloween, they participated in a Trunk or Treat event, passing out treats from a police car, and Cramer recently helped members of a Girl Scout troop earn their detective badges during a 90-minute presentation.
“I told them about investigations and a let them sit in a cop car,” Cramer said. “I handcuffed every one of them, with their parents’ consent. They really enjoyed it.”
Just like the kids at Frederick Terrace are enjoying their new bikes.
“We hope to make it an annual event,” Cramer said, “even if we have just one kid here or there. It was nice to see police working with an organization like Bikers Helping Others to provide children with something that they didn’t have.”