In our collective consciousness, there are certain experiences we all remember with fondness, like a baby’s first smile, a toddler’s first step, a child’s first day of school. But there’s nothing quite like seeing a kid ride their very own bike for the first time.
Ninety UHD volunteers made that experience possible on Saturday, Sept. 14, for 100 children when they came together for a “bike build” for National Day of Service in support of improving our children’s literacy. In less than two hours, dedicated Gators built 100 bikes and put together 400 helmets.
The brainchild of Impact Learning Executive Director Poonam Gulati and funded in part by Youth Service America and AmeriCorps, the Saturday morning bike build was a part of GatorServe. It’s a UHD tradition that brings together UHD students, staff, faculty, friends, families, and community partners to complete projects in service to our neighbors on National Days of Service — 9/11 Day of Remembrance in the fall semesters and Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the spring semesters. Caring for others is in the DNA of UHD, and this event represents an extension of UHD’s culture of caring into the community.
Sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning as part of UHD’s Impact Learning Office, this GatorServe event celebrated 50 years of UHD AND 20 years of CYCLE Houston, a children’s charity dedicated to improving second grade literacy at Title One schools in the Greater Houston area. CYCLE Houston gives students the opportunity to earn a bicycle for achieving their reading goals, and in return, they learn that hard work equals reward.
Way to go, Gators, in helping encourage children to learn to read, improving their future opportunities for success…one bike at a time.
