Friendship Circle has organized for the third consecutive year a Great Bike Giveaway for kids and young adults with special needs. This is a national contest (for folks in the US) giving away adaptive bikes to children with special needs. Friendship Circle is partnering with these bike companies to provide some of the best adaptive bikes to the children and young adults who need them most.

In 2013 there were over 400 entries and 29 adapted bikes were given. For the 2014 Great Bike Giveaway the projected number of entries is 1000 with a possible 75 special bikes to be given away. Providing adaptive bikes to children with special needs gives them more than just a good time and exercise. These bikes enable a child with special needs to feel like they belong. It gives them a sense of confidence, freedom, and pride that is so essential for all children.

Important Dates:

• March 3rd 12:00 pm Contest Begins! Submissions Accepted.
• March 25th 11:59 am Contest Submission Deadline

How the Great Bike Giveaway Works

The Michaela Noam Kaplan Great Bike Giveaway will be hosted on greatbikegiveaway.com. Each style of adaptive bike will have its own dedicated contest page. Visitors can view the different types of adaptive bikes available, decide which bike will best suit their child’s needs and enter that contest. There are different bikes for different needs! Users can only enter to win one bike.

Submission

The bike pages have a space where users can enter the contest. Submit a picture of their child with special needs along with a short explanation of why their child needs an adaptive bike.

Donations

Each bike contest starts with two bikes to be given away. Visitors can donate with the proceeds going towards adding more bikes into the Great Bike Giveaway. This increases the chances of each child that has been entered in the contest.

TWO Ways to Win

#1 Bike Raffle

Each submission must be nominated by 50 friends and family members to be eligible to win a bike.

#2 Most Votes

One bike in each contest will be given away to the entry with the most nominations. By asking people for nominations, participants will draw more visitors to the Great Bike Giveaway Contest and increase the amount of donations. This in-turn will add more bikes to the raffles and give more children with special needs a chance to win an adaptive bike.

Winning

At the close of the contest the entry with the most nominations in each bike contest will win a bike. A drawing will be held to determine the winners of the remaining adaptive bikes in each contest.

READ the Great Bike Giveaway Official Rules HERE

Why The Great Bike Giveaway?

Many children with special needs miss out on the childhood joy of bike riding because their physical or cognitive limitations make riding a bicycle near impossible. For this reason Friendship Circle has created a contest that will enable  children with special needs to win a bike.

Friendship Circle’s Great Bike Giveaway will make it possible for a few youngsters with different needs to engage in a wonderful way to exercise and keep fit. Riding an adapted bike will have positive changes in their health, quality of life and boost to their self-esteem. They will get to experience a sense of accomplishment and see improvements in muscle strength, coordination, and flexibility among other benefits.

How YOU Can Help

1. Donate 

You can make a donation on any of the bike pages. Once enough money has been donated an additional bike will be added to the Great Bike Giveaway. READ more HERE.

2. Share and promote

Let as many people as possible know about the opportunity to win an adaptive bike by sharing the the contest via your social networks and email.

 Your help in sharing this contest is greatly appreciated by Friendship Circle, The Adaptive Bike sponsors and most importantly by the special needs families who will have a chance to win an adaptive bike because of your efforts.

A Special Thank You To the Sponsors

Thank you so much to the sponsors Freedom Concepts, Rifton, Buddy Bike, Ambucs, Triaid, Flaghouse,Mobo Cruisers and Strider Bikes for Participating in the Michaela Noam Kaplan Great Bike Giveaway.

To see these beautiful bikes check out These Adaptive Bikes are Being Given Away in the Great Bike Giveaway by Tzvi Schectman, Family Coordinator for the Friendship Circle of Michigan and the Editor of the the Friendship Circle Blog.