We’re on a mission to make an impact for generations. Join us as we ride into a brighter future.
We’re in it for the kids. Let’s change their lives together.
Being a kid today is not easy. When you pair that with a family who might be struggling to put food on the table every night, everything becomes more challenging.
For so many kids in struggling families, they dream about the day that they’ll get to ride their very own bike and have the freedom that a set of wheels promises them.
That’s why we’ve made it our mission to empower the well-being of 2nd graders, their families & the local community in Title I schools across the country with a brand new bike and helmet.
Our founder, Brad Appel, had a Wish to equip every child with a bike… 82,000+ bikes later his Wish is becoming a reality.
Growing up in Westchester County, NY, Brad discovered early on that biking meant freedom to explore, get outside and just be a kid.
When Brad became a dad of three, he knew he wanted to teach them how to ride bikes so they too could experience that uninhibited freedom of biking around their neighborhood. As he was letting go of their bike seats and watching them ride on their own, he began to wonder…
How could children from low-income families get their own bike when they might be struggling to pay the grocery bill?
This didn’t sit right with him. Brad set out to meet with others in his community who agreed there was a large need to equip kids from struggling families with their own bikes and helmets. He knew that they would love to do so much more than sit in front of a screen all day. Something had to be done.
Thus, Wish for Wheels was born in 2004.
By 2005, the first Build & Give was completed with a small team that were as passionate about bikes and kids as Brad was.
This experience turned into the corporate philanthropy model that we still have today, involving members of different corporate teams in the donation and building of bikes for kids in their local communities.
“It’s cool to spend time building bikes with your team, but the real emotion kicks in when you get to share the bikes with the kids. It’s an indescribable feeling.”
The first year, Wish for Wheels gave new bikes to 68 kids and our impact has grown exponentially each year since.
It’s been almost two decades since Brad Appel began Wish for Wheels and it’s hard to believe that the first group of kindergartners are now adults!
We’re passionate about engaging corporations in philanthropic team building events that not only boost morale & increase focus in the office, but help the kids in your local community, too.