On a recent Wednesday morning, Jayne Mayes pedaled a bicycle around the Quaker Valley Middle School gymnasium to the cheers of spectators calling out, "Good job, Jayne!"
What was so special about a girl riding a bike? Less than a week before, she could not ride a two-wheeled bike.
Jayne, who will soon be a freshman at Quaker Valley High School, was one of 20 students who attended iBike@QV, a weeklong camp aimed at teaching individuals with special needs how to ride a two-wheeled bike.
Prior to the camp, Jayne — an active teenager with Down syndrome who also plays baseball in a Miracle League — was “absolutely not” able to ride a bike, according to her mom, Gayle Mayes. Mrs. Mayes said that although Jayne was nervous to get on a bike, she became more and more relaxed throughout the week at camp.
“She's ready to come back each day,” she said.
The iBike@QV camp, held Monday through Friday last week, was a collaboration with iCan Shine, a nonprofit that teaches recreational activities to individuals with disabilities. Each year, through its iCan Bike program, the organization conducts more than 100 five-day bike camps and after-school programs throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The iBike@QV camp was similar to other iCan Bike camps, with riders attending one 75-minute session each day for five consecutive days, in which they learned to ride while accompanied and encouraged by trained staff from ICan Bike. Riders started out using adapted bicycles provided by iCan Bike before moving on to two-wheeled bikes.
To encourage Jayne, volunteers jogged backward in front of her as she rode her bike. They held up pictures of her favorite characters from the movie “Frozen” as the song "Let it Go" played in the gymnasium.
Lauren McGuirk and Jason Harrison, learning support teachers in Quaker Valley, played a large part in bringing the camp to their district.
’We want to help our students," Ms. McGuirk said. She noted that many of them have intellectual disabilities, neurological impairments or autism spectrum disorder, "all disabilities that could impede their ability to ride a bike."
The fee to bring the iCan Bike camp to Quaker Valley totaled $10,000 to $12,000 to cover the cost of staff, the specialized equipment and other expenses. Teachers and parents raised enough money so that all 20 campers could attend for free. Money was raised through various fundraisers, including a pancake breakfast in February and a spaghetti dinner in May at the Sewickley restaurant called 424 Walnut.
Additional donations came from Dick's Sporting Goods and the Child Health Association of Sewickley. Sewickley Sporting Goods donated helmets for the campers, which they could keep.
Pittsburgh-area Target stores donated more than 20 new bicycles, which weren’t used during the camp but were given to each participant as a gift to take home after completing the camp. The bicycles were assembled by a group of over 30 volunteers — many of them local Target employees — during a bike-building event July 24 at the middle school.
By the end of the camp, many campers were able to ride their new bikes. The iCan Bike program boasts an 80 percent success rate — meaning that by the end of the week, campers can independently ride a two-wheeled bike — with the remaining 20 making progress toward that goal. Parents are given tips to keep the kids successful.
The program raised about $8,000 more than it needed for this year and plans to repeat the camp next year.
“That means we are already halfway there for next year, so that is awesome,” Ms. McGuirk said.
Shellie Petri Budzeak, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: August 7, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
