Hamilton County foster children will receive a wonderful Christmas present this year when 205 donated bikes arrive Tuesday from a Franklin County woman known widely as the “Bike Lady.” An additional 65 bikes will be distributed to Clermont and Butler Counties.
This is a note from The Bike Lady:
A Christmas story… A few weeks ago, I sent an email to Cincinnati and Columbus area counties telling them to expect far fewer bikes than requested. We just didn’t have the funding this year. The next day, I told Cincinnati counties we actually wouldn’t have ANY bikes for them, none at all. There just wasn’t enough funding this year. It was one of the saddest days of Bike Lady’s 10-year history…
The next email was to PATTY LEESEMAN and AMY MCCORMICK – KROGER Corporate Affairs Managers for the Cincinnati and Columbus markets – canceling the KROGER semi scheduled to deliver bikes to Cincinnati, as there were no bikes for that area, and far fewer for central Ohio than requested.
PATTY and AMY immediately sprang to action. Each committed funding to ensure at least ONE HUNDRED BIKES went to EACH metro area as a “feed the human spirit” gift! GO KROGER! GO KROGER! You cannot imagine the joy when I was able to email counties back and tell them KROGER just saved Christmas 
🙂 
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The KROGER-sponsored bikes for central Ohio are already delivered out to counties. Funding from the IPA FOUNDATION 
✈️✈️✈️ added to the KROGER Cincinnati gift, and the assembly of a whopping 270 bikes is wrapping up at PICKAWAY CORRECTIONAL this afternoon, today, right now. KROGER TOTE BAGS will be added to the handlebars to hold the helmet, lock, safety info and letters of hope – just like every other bike distributed this year thanks to KROGER’s earlier gift of 1,800 TOTE BAGS. A bright sparkly bow will adorn each set of handlebars. 
??? And all 270 bikes will be loaded onto a KROGER truck tomorrow morning. 
???That KROGER semi-trailer “sleigh” will take a southern route and deliver Christmas on two-wheels for 270 kids in foster care in HAMILTON (205), CLERMONT (8) and BUTLER (57) counties Tuesday morning, December 19, 2017. Ahhhhhhmazing! 
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Thank you, PATTY. Thank you, AMY. Thank you, KROGER. Way to feed the human spirit. And way to roll. 
<3 <3 <3
