Thirty St. Charles Parish students will have new bicycles to enjoy – just in time for Christmas break.
That comes as part of a special Christmas giveaway by Waste Connections, which is giving bicycles away to students across St. Charles and Jefferson parishes. In St. Charles Parish, students from Mimosa Park, Luling and R.J. Vial elementary schools were chosen, with the bikes delivered last week.
Ten students from each of those schools were selected to receive a bike and safety helmet. The Waste Connections organization has sponsored this giveaway for 24 years around the country.
“We opened our local office in 2016 and we took on that national program for our schools here,” said Buddy Gonlag of Waste Connections. “Globally, we’ve distributed more than 100,000 bikes over the years. Between the schools here, we’re giving away 60. It’s just about being able to help in any way we can during this holiday time.
The company works with local school districts to compile a list of names for children who could be candidates to receive the gifts.
Officially called the Waste Connections Annual Holiday Bike Build, the program began in November of 2011 when Pat Murphy, a Waste Connections employee in The Woodlands, Texas was inspired by his church pastor to do something special for kids during the holiday season.
Murphy shared the idea with co-workers Ron Mittelstaedt and Eric Hansen and together they put the goodwill initiative into motion.
The trio collected donations to cover the cost of 16 bicycles that first year. They bought and assembled the bikes and then gave them to several small local charities.
The next year the initiative received donations to buy and build 66 bicycles that were assembled right in the office. Soon, the project was adopted across the entire company – from California to Tennessee, from Canada to Mexico.
The team assembled and donated thousands of bicycles.
Today, Waste Connections employees continue to assemble bicycles to make Christmas a bit merrier for the families in their communities. Every August, the company’s bike building teams start planning to build bikes. Donations are collected and matched by the company, and bikes are purchased. Actual assembly starts in early December.
“It’s just important to help out and spread the holiday cheer,” Gonlag said. “Being able to provide something nice for the children is something we all look forward to each year.”
