EAST MOLINE, Ill. — They may work on tractors and combines every day, but a few teams at John Deere are helping to build some smaller rides for kids with disabilities.
Each year, employees help out Mississippi Bend Trykes, a local chapter of the national nonprofit AMBUCKS. The organization builds custom tricycles to fit the needs of every child.
John Deere worker Elijah Bunch couldn't be happier after a yearlong wait to give a trike to his 13-year-old cousin "Junior." "Getting to see their faces and stuff when they get the bikes and how excited they are — you can't put a price on that," Bunch said.
Bunch was one of several dozen staff that assembled the tricycles, with John Deere donating 14 of them this year. "Great learning experience for me 'cause I didn't realize how much work goes into building these," Bunch said.
"I think that riding a bike is kind of a rite of passage of childhood," Mississippi Bend Trykes president Katie Powers said. "To be able to provide them with an activity that's safe, it's therapeutic, it's beneficial for social engagement."
Powers also explained that these kinds of tricycles retail upwards of $3,000, but the nonprofit can build them at $400-$1,100 based on what accessories are needed.