Anadarko Teams Up With 'Wish For Wheels' To Deliver Smiles
DENVER (CBS) - Anadarko Petroleum Corporation prides itself on being a responsible member of communities. Sometimes that means leaving the offices and oil fields behind for a day of community service.
This spring, employees with Anadarko teamed up with the nonprofit Wish for Wheels. It gives brand-new bikes and helmets to kindergartners through second-graders in low-income communities and youth centers.
The founder, Brad Appel, says biking can transform lives.
"A bike can give responsibility, adventure, community and wellness," Appel said.
But the nonprofit cannot do it alone.
"I like to say we live and breathe by corporate philanthropy, responsibility, and team building," Appel said. "Instead of going out and looking for donors grants, we partner with companies who fund our bikes, build our bikes, and then they give the bikes to kids in their communities."
That's where companies like Anadarko step in and start building bikes at Union Station.
"We talk a lot about a win-win. We work really hard at normal jobs. We get a lot of benefit from our employees being able to do this," explained Brad Holly, Anadarko Petroleum Senior Vice President.
"This" is a team-building exercise where about 100 Anadarko employees built bikes. They worked in teams with one member blind-folded, the others reading directions.
"We had a sign-up -- 100 employees -- and it filled up in just a couple of minutes," Holly said. "We'll go out and deliver the bikes, and again, our sign-up sheet filled up almost instantly because people really enjoy the opportunity to get out and do something that makes them feel good about what they contribute to the community as well as being able to work their teammates."
Those 200 bikes from the Union Station build were delivered to children at schools in LaSalle, Greeley and Gilcrest -- after being inspected by a professional from Wish for Wheels.
For the kids, it was a morning of surprise and delight.
"You could see this morning how excited they were," said Mike Andres, the principal at Pet Mirich Elementary School in LaSalle. "A lot of these kids don't have bikes or access to bikes. It's just a really great thing for our community and for these kids, they're really excited."
For Anadarko and its employees in Colorado, this is a perfect way to support the community.
"We are just so happy to give back. Wish for Wheels does just a wonderful job for kids. I think we can all remember back to maybe that first bike that we had and what a neat feeling that is," Holly said. "Not everybody has an opportunity to do that."
LINK: Wish for Wheels
Raetta Holdman is a veteran newscast producer. She's been with CBS4 for more than 25 years, coordinating events -- large and small -- from the control room. Contact her by clicking here.
