Giggles and happy chatter could be heard on December 10th as 16 children received brand-new bicycles from Pedal Up Polk, a new non-profit started by Graham Turner, a high school student at Polk County High School. WNC Bridge Foundation recently awarded Pedal Up a NOW Grant to support the organization’s Christmas Experience Project, which provides new bicycles, equipment, and informative bike clinics to youth in Polk County.

“I would like to thank Graham and everyone involved in giving my daughter a bike and helmet. It came at a perfect time, was very much appreciated, and was entirely unexpected. This experience was a bright light in my world, and it impressed me so much to see a young man doing such good in a community with so much joy on his face while doing it.” ~Parent of bike recipient