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Supply chain crisis impacts Quad City group, special needs children

Mississippi Bend Trykes, which provides customized bikes for kids with disabilities, is asking the community for help to support children in need.

BETTENDORF, Iowa — The ongoing supply chain crisis has impacted Quad Cities children with special needs.

Mississippi Bend Trykes provides customized bikes for kids with disabilities, the organization has been feeling the effects of the global issue.

Organization president Katie Powers said the group has been waiting over a year for more than a dozen new bikes to arrive. Shipping delays and material shortages are to blame.

"Whether it's a physical disability or a cognitive issue, maybe they are impulsive or have decision-making issues, that it's just not safe to ride a regular bicycle," Powers said. "There's a lot of reasons why kids need adaptations and that's why we're here."

The backlog of bike shipments has delayed estimated arrival until spring 2022.

The group began asking families with old or unused tricycles to return them as a donation for other kids in need. The organization is waiting for around 20 tricycles to show up. An additional 10 tricycles are in need of funding.

"There's a chance that (the kids aren't) going to fit in (the bikes) much longer because we've waited so long for these trykes," Powers said.

Mississippi Bend Trykes has provided tricycles to more than 200 families over the past five years.

To learn more about the organization or return your tricycle, click here.

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