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Variety the Children’s Charity of the Desert gives out bikes to 400 valley kids

Variety Children's Charity of the Desert gave out bikes and helmets to 400 deserving local 4th-grade students. It's a part of the 26th annual Variety Children's Charity of the Desert bike giveaway.

It was a drive-thru event at Palm Springs Motors to keep it COVID-19 safe.

Elementary students from low-income families were nominated by their teachers for showing good citizenship, exceptional effort, and respect for self, family, and teachers. Student Andres Rosas was one of them.

“It feels amazing and exciting," said Rosas. "A lot of kids out there don't get nothing that they wanted, but this is- I'm so blessed for this.”

This year, Variety will exceed 8,000 bikes distributed over the 26 years during this giveaway. Each kid got an individual shout-out and a gift bag as they rolled through to pick up their bike. However, the event did not come without its share of obstacles.

“This year, we had some challenges as have a lot of people with transportation due to COVID. And so some of our product for today did not come in on time," said Variety of the Desert's executive director, Heide Maldoon. “There's always things that define an organization and a team of people. And I just had to say in a time of challenging crisis is when we see who people really are and how they can step up.”

The delay in supplies forced organizers to postpone the event by two weeks. Luckily, the organization was able to pull it off just in time for the holidays. The organizers made sure each deserving student was given their early holiday gift!

“I'm very thankful for this bike I get right now and this chance and opportunity," said Rosas.

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Marian Bouchot

Marian Bouchot is the weekend morning anchor and a reporter for KESQ News Channel 3. Learn more about Marian here.

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