Several students from Miramonte Elementary School were surprised with brand new bicycles, thanks to a donation from the Celebration Church.
Students were taken out of class on the morning of Dec.17 and brought to the school cafeteria, where they sang holiday songs such as “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” with Celebration Church members. After singing, the church unveiled the new bikes, which were hidden behind the cafeteria curtains when the students walked in.
The Celebration Church worked with the non-profit L.A. Dream Center for the six years to give bikes to underprivileged children in the Clovis area, said Corina Burgess, who is a leadership development pastor at the church.
The donation is a community effort, as the church works with the Clovis Police and Fire Departments to provide helmets with the bikes.
“There is nothing like seeing kids come to life and be excited about something,” Burgess said. “We know that not every family gets to provide the best Christmas that they believe, but we know that by working together that we can provide something great for the kids.”
Celebration Church had donated bikes to 13 schools, Burgess said. This year the church chose Miramonte because of the enthusiasm of its teachers and staff.
“Our staff was here a few years ago and chose Miramonte and what we loved about the school was the teachers and the staff, they really rallied behind the idea and they understand the importance of doing this,” Burgess said.
Miramonte Principal Laura Hart agreed, saying that she is glad the bikes come from members of the same community that her students are a part of.
“It’s always so heartwarming to have the community come out and support our school and to do it in the holiday season means a whole lot. For a lot of kids this will be the biggest gift they get this holiday season,” Hart said, adding that the donation is “such a generous thing and for our kids to experience it we believe will help them become generous people.”
Marcela Ventura was there when the bikes were revealed in front of her son, Tony Ventura. She said seeing her son get excited made her happy and grateful for her community.
“To me this means a lot, this is a big gift that he deserves. You see a lot of kids and they don’t get anything but this is really big, so thank you to everyone who made this happen,” Ventura said.