High Point University’s freshmen kicked off their first day of classes by giving back to the community and surprising local children with 150 new bicycles. Two HPU freshmen helped a child ride a new bike.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 19, 2024 – High Point University’s freshmen kicked off their first day of classes by giving back to the community and surprising local children with new bicycles.
After moving in on Friday and Saturday, HPU freshmen worked together on Sunday to build 150 bikes as their very first team-building exercise. On Monday, students gave the bikes to children from the Macedonia Family Resource Center in High Point and Operation Xcel, a local nonprofit organization that offers academic and enrichment programs for kids.
The children were excited when they saw new blue and red bikes waiting for them inside the James H. and Jesse E. Millis Athletic and Convocation Center. It didn’t take long before the children put on their safety helmets and began riding their new bikes inside the Millis gymnasium.
“This project offers our students a meaningful way to give back to the community and get acquainted with their new home at High Point University,” said HPU President Nido Qubein. “It’s quite an experience for our new students to have during their first couple of days on campus, and it immerses them into our culture of service, teamwork, communication and responsiveness.”
After receiving the bikes, HPU treated the children to three different food trucks for lunch and a DJ playing music. This is the sixth year that the HPU family has built and surprised local children with the bikes. The event is one of the many ways HPU contributes 500,000 hours of service to the community each year.
“As High Point’s University, our family is committed to serving the local community and modeling important values like service, generosity and kindness to our students,” said Bradley Taylor, senior director for student experience. “This weekend, we welcomed our incoming Class of 2028 and hosted a multitude of activities including the Build-A-Bike event, where the students learned first-hand the acts of service and teamwork. Today, the students welcomed kids from Macedonia Family Resource Center and Operation Xcel. In keeping with the scripture, ‘To whom much is given, much is required,’ it was so special to see our students present these kids with a new and shiny bicycle, a bookbag stuffed with school supplies and visit HPU’s campus.”
Alexa Klein, a biology major from Baltimore, Maryland, said she enjoyed meeting her new classmates during the bike build event Sunday and helping children ride their new bikes on Monday.
“I’m a big believer in giving more than you take, so I’m very excited to give the bikes that we spent our time building to the kids in the local area,” Klein said. “I hope I put a smile on their faces today. The fact that we could build 150 bikes for kids in one day speaks volumes about the community service aspect of this university.”
Charlene Gladney, executive director of Operation Xcel, shared her excitement about the bikes going home with kindergarten through third-grade students she serves.
“I know many of our students have never had a bike or if they had one, they never had a brand-new bike,” Gladney said. “This is an awesome experience for them to get a bike and a helmet. Safety is important for our students who are Title I, which is low-income students. This is just a great opportunity for them.”
After the event, the bikes were loaded onto trucks and delivered to the nonprofit organizations, which will help the students take them home.
“I’m very happy having a bike and a helmet because my bike was broken,” said Mckenzie Lattimore, a fourth-grade student from Operation Xcel.
“Having a new bike means so much,” said fifth-grade student Serenity McCray, who received a bike along with her twin sister Trinity and younger brother Taji. The children are being raised by an aunt after following the death of their mother.
Dell McCormick, executive director of Macedonia Family Resource Center, agreed having a new bike was an opportunity for the students in his program.
“It means everything,” McCormick said. “We take for granted that everybody knows how to ride a bike and has a bike, but a lot of these kids have never ridden bikes. We’re literally teaching some of them how to ride now. You watch, some of them are pros and some have never done it before. It’s awesome they’ll all be able to take a bike home.”
Piper Wuerfel, an exercise science major from San Diego, California, helped a little girl who didn’t know how to ride a bike. She felt rewarded when the child showed she could ride on her own.
“I loved it and thought it was awesome,” said Wuerfel. “It was nice being able to give back to the community and see the joy on the kids’ faces.”