SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A half-dozen students at Hillcrest High School were gifted bicycles, thanks to the North Springfield Betterment Association.
The NSBA called the principal of Hillcrest asking to donate the refurbished bikes.
Dr. Rob Kroll then asked his teachers to think of students who could use the transportation. From there, the students were picked by a random drawing.
“Super awesome, great, great chance for these students to be able to have an extra resource to help them get to school and to work, and just provide that need for them for that transportation,” Kroll said.
One student told OzarksFirst that his bike is the only way for him to get to school and work, but it’s currently broken.
“I’m literally dodging and weaving through traffic, trying to get to school and work,” student Jacob Cyrus said. “It doesn’t even have brakes.”
Cyrus was one of the six recipients of the bike donation.
“It makes me feel a little bit better about myself now that I do have a better way of transportation,” Cyrus said.
Junior Gavin Caruthers said he was already saving up to buy a bike and is thankful he can spend the money on something else.
“I feel awesome,” Caruthers said. “Honestly it’s like a blessing.”
The NSBA has a 20-year-old tradition of donating bikes. The organization believes the bikes add more than just a means of transportation.
“We also believe that it literally helps kids get to school, thus encouraging attendance and maybe it can provide a spark for some other area of life,” Andy Simmons with the NSBA said.
Originally, there were five students chosen to get a bike. However, one teacher came to Principal Kroll asking if a sixth student in need could receive a bike.
The night before the donation, the NSBA was able to add that extra bike.
“This is why I love being principal at Hillcrest High School. It’s because it’s anything that we can do to overcome obstacles and barriers for students to be able to reach the future that they really want to have,” Kroll said. “That’s what it’s all about for us.”
