‘Every Child Deserves a Bike’ a worthy Flyers Alumni program

Last Christmas, 5-year-old Lucy Brooks (first row) and her family received a special needs bicycle from the Flyers Alumni. On hand for the presentation were Alumni president Brad Marsh (white jersey) along with former Flyer greats Jimmy and Joe Watson.

Christmas in April?

Well, May, June and July, too.

You see, the Flyers Alumni objective to provide a bicycle for 5-year-old special needs child Lucy Brooks of Springfield, Pa. for the holiday last December was so popular and successful, the organization now plans to repeat the good deed on a regular basis.

The program is called “Every Child Deserves a Bike.’’

Every month, the Alumni will donate a custom-built bicycle to a special-needs child in the Delaware Valley.  Each bicycle costs roughly $5,000 to build.

The Alumni are appealing to Flyers fans and corporate sponsorship partners alike to assist in offsetting the cost via donations.

“Every Child Deserves a Bike is a spin-off from the 12 Days of Christmas Giving program the Alumni do each holiday season,” Flyers Alumni president and former Flyers defenseman Brad Marsh said.

“This past year, we had an adaptive bike built for Lucy Brooks,’’ Marsh said. “Joe Watson, Jimmy Watson and I delivered it to Lucy on Christmas Eve Day.

“Seeing Lucy’s joy at getting her new bike and getting to know her family — really nice people, and diehard Flyers fans to boot — inspired the Alumni to start this new initiative.’’

The motto of the new initiative is, “Building Bikes, Delivering Dreams.”

“Lucy has continued to ride since getting the bike, and she zooms around independently on it now,’’ Marsh said. “Every month we’ll have a brand new adaptive bike built and we’ll present it to a special needs child in the Delaware Valley. Due to costs, we’re going to need support from Flyers fans and sponsors to keep the program viable.”

To donate, visit: flyersalumni.net

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About Wayne Fish 2534 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.

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