On Saturday, June 4, approximately 200 volunteers from Toyota Motors Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), Toyota Christian Fellowship, The Kentucky Foster/Adoptive Care Association and KVC Kentucky set up makeshift assembly lines inside Toyota South in Richmond to build nearly 100 bicycles for children in foster care.

For every car sold in the month of May (National Foster Care Month), Toyota South pledged to purchase and build the same number of bikes. In true Toyota style, a bicycle was assembled every 30 seconds with a quality inspection and test drive included!

Of the 100 bicycles, 50 were donated to children being cared for in KVC Kentucky foster families. To a child in foster care, a bicycle made just for them is a symbol of hope and a sign that someone really does care about them. These bikes will make a huge impact in the lives of these children who may have never had something to call their own.

Toyota South owner Steve Gates was delighted to be able to help Kentucky children in foster care.

“Think about it, they’re separated from their parents and often bounced around from house to house in the system until they are 18. So our goal here, aside from building 100 bikes, is to bring awareness to another group of people that need our help and understanding.”

The bike build was so well received that Gates announced that it will become an annual event to support Kentucky children year after year. KVC Kentucky is delighted to have been a part of the First Annual Bud Gates Bike Build Day, named in honor of Steve’s father.

Over 8,000 Kentucky children depend on foster families to provide a dependable, nurturing environment. You can make a positive difference in a child’s life by becoming a foster parent! If fostering doesn’t fit in your life right now, please consider donating or volunteering.

More News Articles:

• Toyota helps build bicycles for foster children (The Richmond Register)

ABOUT KVC KENTUCKY 
KVC Kentucky, headquartered in Lexington, is a nonprofit child welfare and behavioral healthcare organization that provides behavioral health services, foster care, family preservation and diversion, services. KVC’s services are in-home, strengths-based, and driven by a focus on the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the child and family. Each year, KVC Kentucky serves more than 10,000 children and families in eight regions of the state. The organization is a subsidiary of KVC Health Systems which directly touches the lives of nearly 60,000 children each day across the U.S. Learn more at www.kvckentucky.org.