'Best day ever!' Nonprofit surprises kids with new bikes at Lakeland Boys and Girls Club

LAKELAND — Franzier Vazquez whooped with delight Wednesday afternoon, his eyes widening as he watched a professional bicyclist put on a demonstration of daredevilry in a gym crowded with equally excited children.

But that was only the introduction. Franzier and other kids in an after-school program at the James J. Musso Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Polk County soon learned that they would be leaving with bicycles of their own. Franzier, wearing a tomato-red T-shirt, approached the row of 100 gleaming, crimson-and-black bikes lined up at one end of the gym.

“This is the best day ever!” the boy exulted.

He and the other children were the latest beneficiaries of bike giveaways from Can’d Aid, a nonprofit organization, in partnership with the Yasso Game On! Foundation.

Can’d Aid, based in Colorado, formed a decade ago with a mission of encouraging volunteerism through initiatives that only require a short time commitment. The group’s name derives from its aluminum recycling program, which has collected the equivalent of 73 million cans, it says.

Can’d Aid also promotes exposure to music, arts and the outdoors for underserved youth, donates canned water to communities after disasters and engages in river cleanups, among other efforts.

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Wednesday’s event in Lakeland fit into the organization’s Treads and Trails program. Can’d Aid says it has given away more than 13,000 bikes and skateboards to children. The organization's partner in the bike donations, the Yasso Game On! Foundation, is a nonprofit created by the frozen snack company.

The philosophy behind Can’d Aid is “based on just a very simple belief that everyone has the ability to give back and do good,” Executive Director Diana Ralston said.

Volunteers typically devote two hours to projects, she said. For the Treads and Trails program, that means showing up to assemble bicycles or skateboards before they will be given away to local children.

Can’d Aid organized a bike-building event at Swan Brewing in Lakeland the day before the children at the Boys and Girls Club received the bicycles.

“The whole premise is really just that, like I said, everyone has the ability to give back and do something good,” Ralston said. “And these small acts of kindness add up to big change. And so we have over the past decade built this movement of really inspired volunteers who are wanting to create change in their own backyards.”

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Polk County operate free after-school programs at nine locations for underserved kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. The clubs seek to increase academic success and the likelihood of high school graduation and promote healthy lifestyles.

On Wednesday afternoon, a few dozen children sat at midcourt in the sweltering gym as Jeff Lenosky, a professional mountain biker, stood atop a red-and-black Reeb bicycle. Lenosky, who won his first national championship in trail riding while in college, holds the word record for the bunny hop, a high jump using a mountain bike.

Lenosky began his demonstration by lifting the front tire in a wheelie, which he maintained as he rode in a rectangle around the cluster of kids, who wore T-shirts from their elementary schools or the club in a cacophony of colors.

“We don’t have mountains here, so I’m going to have to make some mountains,” Lenosky told the children.

He maneuvered his bike to a set of bleachers at the side of the gym. While holding the brakes, Lenosky hopped up the five sets of bleachers, prompting shouts of appreciation. He then rode his bike off the fourth row of bleachers, a height of about four feet.

For a final trick, Lenosky asked three staff members from the Boys and Girls Clubs to lie side by side on the gym floor. He pedaled from one end of the gym and leaped over the trio without use of a ramp, causing an eruption of child glee.

Lenosky, wearing a black helmet, told the kids about his background in cycling and emphasized safety, sharing the ABC routine of checking air (in tires), brakes and chain before every ride. He said that when he began considering a career in cycling while nearing his college graduation, he received universal discouragement.

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“My message for you this afternoon is as you get older, you might have different dreams,” he said. “I’m here to tell you, if you work hard enough, you can make it a reality.”

Lenosky then directed the children’s attention toward the far end of the gym, where a wall of mats had been erected to conceal an assembly of bicycles. He coached the kids to chant, on a count of three, “Move those mats!”

Two staff members pulled the mats apart to reveal the line of bikes, each parked with a black helmet hanging from its handlebars. The bicycles bore the Can’d Aid logo, and the helmets the logo of the Yasso Game On! Foundation.

As the first batch of children ventured toward the bicycles, Lenosky helped Adrian Campos, 7, fit a helmet onto his head. Kassi Ackerman, a Can’d Aid employee, did the same for Daneilys Burgos, 8.

Franzier Vazquez said he received his first bike at age 3 but no longer had one.

“I’m very excited because my dad taught me how to do it,” he said of riding a bike.

Kolton Shaw, 9, said he was surprised to learn that he would be going home with a new bicycle. He said his current bicycle was broken.

Asked if he might someday learn to do the tricks Lenosky had demonstrated, Kolton replied, “Mmm hmm.”

How long did he think it might take him to learn those techniques?

“Like six years,” he said.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Nonprofit treats kids to trick show, bike giveaway at Lakeland event