Cape Cod Tech students refurbish bikes for Habitat for Humanity

[Apr. 30, 2021: Erika Tarantal]

For months, students at Cape Cod Regional Technical High School have been spending time every week refurbishing bikes.

At first, 11th grader Shannen Hardy said most of them had no idea what to do.

"I did not know a lick of it," she said.

"Taking them apart and rebuilding them definitely helped me learn," said Alyssa Bach, another 11th grader taking part in the effort.

The bike project got underway as part of the Skills USA program at the high school.

Students in the program learn more than the standard curriculum including personal, workplace and technical skills.

Peggy Riley-O’Brian is the program coordinator and a teacher at the high school.

“They become well-rounded in their trade, but also in other things,” Riley-O’Brian said. “One of the tenets of the organization is that we do community service."

The school has long supported Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod. This year, Riley-O’Brian came up with the idea of gifting donated and then refurbished bikes to children in need.

"We have over 300 children living in Habitat for Humanity homes here on Cape Cod," said Wendy Cullinan, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod.

"We're just thrilled to have these young students running this program,” she added. “The kindness that they're spreading is such a great message."

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The students said they understand the special joy a bike can bring.

"I've loved this,” Hardy said. “Especially because a lot of us have younger siblings and we remember seeing them with their first bikes."

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