What’s Right With Our Schools: South Pittsburg Elementary Free Bikes

SOUTH PITTSBURG, TN (WDEF) -Third graders at South Pittsburg Elementary recently competed in an essay contest. The children who wrote the best essays won a free bicycle, but there was a twist. What happened next is a free-wheeling example of “What’s Right With Our Schools.”

“We were contacted to see if we were interested in a writing essay contest where of the kids thought that they were competing for bicycles. The book they were supposed to read before they wrote the essay. It was encouraging them that you can be whatever you wanna be if you put the effort into it,” Candace Powers, South Pittsburg Elementary School Principal, said.

“We are title school we’re not going to say no many of my kids don’t have a bike. Don’t know how to ride a bike,” Powers said.

“The last time I had a bike, it got rusted in the rain. Because we accidentally left it out and it started to break apart,” Henry Blevins, South Pittsburg Elementary School 3rd grader, said.

“And today is the day,” Powers said.

“Bikes for kids with was formed by myself and my wife and me like lemon of the Harlem Globetrotters in the year 2002 so we’re in 24th year we started in our garage and that year we gave away 125 new bicycles this year will giveaway our 114,000 bike,” Bill Pollakov, Founder, President, and CEO of Bikes of Kids Foundation, said.

Powers says, “I do come from schools that are recommended to us and we raise money for the children and we put on an event Werry prior to the event. They are reading we’ve created children’s books for them to read about goal setting and dreaming and we put out an event where they are reading essays we’re honoring people who’ve done really well in those essays.”

Pollakov says, “The bad news is Miss Debbie. Tell me we don’t have one more good news everybody’s getting a bike.”

Well, it’s doesn’t get old. We’re and I don’t know 789 states is our first time in in Tennessee and we hope that we’re here in Tennessee for a long long time. We had a great great time. Great experience.

Pollakov says, “They saw the results of what we’re doing. We’re not giving away a Christmas. We’re doing is helping me change the lives of the kids. We’re gonna change somebody.”