ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This holiday season, St. Petersburg police officers are doing more than keeping their community safe — they're making sure kids are happy.
Officers and volunteers handed out over 500 bikes to children in need Monday evening. It's part of the department's annual police holiday bicycle event, and this year's was larger than ever.
The bikes are donated through the St. Pete Fools Charities. The organization has donated bikes for five years and every year has grown. This year the organization was able to donate the most amount of bikes to date.
Families receiving the bicycles for their children expressed gratitude. For many kids, this was their first bike.
Organizers with the St. Pete Fools Club said this is why they do the event.
"They will never forget that. It’s a special moment and I’m blessed I get to witness that," Founder of the St. Pete Fools Club Tony Mangiaficl said.
The annual event began in December 2019 when a member of the St. Pete Fools Club saw an officer buying a bicycle for a teenager in Walmart. The member offered to buy a second bicycle for the officer to give to another child. That member returned to the police department three days later with a dozen more bikes.
In 2020, the organization donated 80 bikes to the department, and a year later, that number grew to 130. Last year the organization was able to donate 200 bikes. This year, they broke a record and donated more than 500 bicycles to children in need.