Bright smiles defied gray skies as happy young people rode bikes around the parking lot of Lighthouse Academy on September 12th. Some grown-ups, including former Gov. Tom Corbett, rode with them. They smiled, too.
The parking lot parade followed a brief program during which children with special needs received custom-made adaptive bicycles and strollers through the My Bike program of children’s charity Variety, funded by AllOne Charities.
Corbett said he has served on Variety’s board of directors for many years and travels across the state to help distribute adaptive bicycles and other equipment to children. “Everybody smiles,” said Corbett, who said he enjoys seeing children and their parents enjoy a newfound sense of freedom.
One of the children who took part in the parking lot parade was Jocelynn Moon, 15. She rode in an adaptive stroller, accompanied by her grandmother, Wendy Gehr, and her nurse, Maura English. The device is a big improvement over the wheelchair Moon had used to get around before, Gehr said. It will be much easier to fold, store and transport in the family car, she said. Now we can take her to family picnics,” Gehr said. English said she first learned of the opportunity to obtain the stroller about a year ago, from a physical therapist. The wait was worth it, she said. “She’s been smiling as soon as we put her in it,” English said.
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