CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Smiles and giggles were seen and heard at Harvey Elementary School on Thursday morning as second graders received free bikes.
1PointFive, a carbon removal technology company partnered with the non-profit Wish for Wheels and the King Ranch to build over 300 bikes for area second graders.
As KRIS 6 previously reported, 1PointFive is bringing the world's largest direct air capture facility to Kingsville. Their mission is to green, and what better place to start than with the kids?
"A bike at this age signals a lot of independence," Director of Projects Trey Fournier said. "The kids that will be given bikes today, it might be their first time being able to get a bike, so for us to be here and be a part of it and be a good community partner, it’s truly exciting. We want to ensure that while we're working on our project we want to make a significant difference in the lives of everyone here. A great place to start with that is the youth and making an impact there."
Six Title 1 schools were given free bikes: Santa Gertrudis, Ricardo, Nanny, Harvey, Perez and Harrell.
"My first reaction was, this can't be true... free bikes? It's a great day to be a Brahma. It's going to be amazing. At this campus, 70-80 students will be getting a bike," Coordinator for Parent and Community Outreach for KISD Max Segovia said.
For kids like second grader Tobias Trevino, this will be their first time owning a bike.
"I want to ride it to school. I live far from it but I know where to go. I was kind of scared and kind of excited but I did good practicing today," Trevino said.
1PointFive is working with public libraries in the area and the Boys and Girls Club of Kingsville to continue to promote education initiatives within the community.
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