When a Sutter Middle School counselor contacted Salwa Kasabian from Folsom’s Hope about two students who needed bicycles to get to school, the heartwarming effects of the holiday season were set in motion. Kasabian posted the request to social media where it was spotted by local donor, Jimmy Ferris.
“I had been praying for a special giving opportunity,” said Ferris, who was raised in a home with few extras and is now a successful electrician at SMUD. “My childhood was marked with specific instances where the kindness of neighbors and even strangers brought joy and hope, especially during the holidays.”
Ferris, who knows Kasabian through Lakeside Church, opted to fulfill the need. Dan McElroy, manager of the Trek Folsom store on Folsom-Auburn Road at Folsom Lake Crossing, was contacted and jumped at the opportunity to provide two new bicycles at below the store’s cost.
“We know how much joy being on a bike brings and to be a part of giving that joy to these students this holiday season is a privilege for us,” said McElroy. “Being able to help these kids is helping to change the world one bike, well, actually two bikes at a time.”
By the time Kasabian visited the store to see the new Trek bicycles and meet McElroy, the donation had grown to also include helmets, locks and a tire pump.
“It is an honor to serve a community such as Folsom where cycling is so important,” said McElroy as Ferris picked up the bicycles to deliver to the school where they were given to the two students on Wednesday.
For more information and to donate to Folsom’s Hope, call 916-246-9978 or visit https://www.folsomshope.org/. For information on Trek Folsom, call 916-836-3890 or visit https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/retail/folsom/.
