Nearly 40 members of Goleta United Boys & Girls Club received free personalized bikes

GOLETA, Calif. – Nearly 40 kids part of the Goleta United Boys and Girls Club received free personalized bikes on Aug. 3 courtesy of Seek Thermal.

Over 70 Seek Thermal employees gathered at their warehouse to gift the bikes to 38 children who did not already have a bike at home.

The children were asked to submit a short essay describing what a new bike would mean to them. Seek Thermal was only planning to give out 20 bikes in total, but after receiving 38 "heartfelt" essay submissions, the team was determined to hand out bikes to all of the children, said Paige Johnson, spokeswoman for Goleta United Boys and Girls Club.

“The letters were very impactful, filled with the innocent honesty of a child,” said Debbie Horne, Vice President of Human Resources and Administration at Seek Thermal.

“Many of the children shared that they’ve never had a bike before or that their families could not afford one. One comment – ‘I just want my parents to be happy’ – was so unselfish and sweet."

Before gifting the kids the bikes, Seek Thermal employees spent the morning building each of the bikes by hand, with a technician on-site to do the final safety checks.

The kids also received a decorated poster with their names and original essays on it.