DERBY — Students with special needs in Derby now have a new form of transportation to get around.
The school district on Thursday (April 8) received two custom-built bikes courtesy of the Save the Kid Fund, a charitable organization that supports children with disabilities.
Director Trudy Lasky, the sister of longtime Derby teacher Deb Zaleha, delivered the goods to both Derby Middle School and the Little Raiders University. Lasky, a Derby resident, builds the custom bikes out of her home garage. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story.
She was inspired to lend a helping hand to other kids in need when her own teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, was gifted a custom bike from another charitable group when he was only six.
Lasky was joined at DMS and LRU by Superintendent of Schools Matthew Conway, some staff members and student aides, who watched in pure joy as two students hopped on the shiny red bikes and gave them a spin around school grounds.
“It was so powerful, emotional and inspiring all in one,” Conway said after watching the smiles erupt across the faces of students Jonathan Briscoe, 11, and Irving Ballester, 4. “This is an amazing program for kids, as they will be able to participate in activities with their peers.”
Lasky said the bikes, which will be property of Derby Schools, and can be used by any student in the system with a disability, said the bikes provide much-needed physical therapy, build up kids’ stamina and strength and overall bring happiness to the riders.
Lasky said the bikes will come in especially handy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“These children have been at home, and they don’t always get the (physical) therapy they need when they’re not at school,” Lasky said. “This is a way for them to get their therapy and not even realize it because it does not feel like therapy.”
The custom wheels, which Lasky said can cost $1,200-$2,000 per bike, are made possible by grants, donations and fundraising efforts. Save the Kid, around since the early 80s, and its exclusive Robbie’s Riders bike donation program, has since been able to donate more than 500 bikes to kids in need, Lasky said.
Lasky herself has built more than 50 of the custom bikes, and is excited to strike up a partnership with Conway and Derby High School about getting students involved in the assembly.
Conway said he can’t think of a better way to get DHS students involved in an extraordinary organization like Save a Kid.
“The kids would be trained on how to assemble the bikes and would either assist assembling them as part of their technology class or as part of an after school club or volunteer activity,” Conway said.
Lasky said she’s looking forward to the help from DHS students going forward.
“I think it will be a great partnership,” Lasky said. “We’ll set up the program at Derby High School. I’d like to train the kids myself on how to put the bikes together.”
Lasky said delivering the bikes to kids across Connecticut does her heart good.
“Every delivery is different and each child has a different issue, ability or disability,” Lasky added. “It’s an especially wonderful thing when you see a child who has never ridden a bike before. Once they get used to it, they just take off.”
Lasky said people can request a custom bike by visiting the Save the Kid website.
