Empowering Students through the 10th & Penn Bike Build

Communities in Schools of Eastern PA, in collaboration with Penske Truck Rental, brought an incredible opportunity to the students of 10th & Penn Elementary School. Maritza Vargas, CIS Eastern PA site coordinator at 10th & Penn Elementary, joined forces with Penske Truck Rental and the GSF Foundation to ensure student access to bicycles. Thanks to this collaboration, Penske delivered 40 bikes for students at the downtown Reading elementary school to empower and inspire them to continue reaching success.

The 10th & Penn Bike Build has left a lasting impression on elementary school students. This initiative promotes physical activity and transportation by providing bikes, helmets, and locks and instills a sense of joy, empowerment, and community support.

Bicycles were distributed to select students in stages to maximize the program's reach and ensure fairness and celebration of specific student achievements. On the day of delivery, the first six bikes were handed out in the morning and an additional six in the afternoon to CIS of Eastern PA case-managed students. The remaining bikes were reserved as rewards for students with perfect attendance at the end of the marking period, encouraging consistent dedication to education.

Director of Sales Systems at Penske, Melissa Cushman, shared insights into the origins and objectives of the 10th & Penn Bike Build.

"Since my team works each day "building trucks" via our internal vehicle design software, I thought, what better way to give back to the community than to build something? I heard of this opportunity while working for Penske in the Carolina area, and since the founders of GSF Foundation are one of our large accounts, I thought it was a perfect fit," said Melissa. "Once I contacted the GSF Foundation about the opportunity, they were all in! I then reached out to our internal United Way ambassador for a group with which to work. This year 10th & Penn Elementary was the group selected to be the recipients."

The event's success highlights the profound impact that collective efforts can have on enriching the lives of young individuals, fostering a brighter and more promising future for all.