FirstEnergy employees recently volunteered to assemble bicycles for children from lower-income families in southwestern Pennsylvania. Forty volunteers from the company’s West Penn Power service area and other FirstEnergy companies joined local businesses and organizations at Mammoth Park in Westmoreland County. This event was part of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual Build A Bike program.
The FirstEnergy Foundation contributed a $10,000 grant to support the program, which provides new bicycles, helmets, and locks to children across Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette, Butler, and Armstrong counties—all areas served by FirstEnergy.
“We really just wouldn’t be able to purchase these high-quality bikes without the pivotal funding provided by the FirstEnergy Foundation,” said Wendy Koch, Senior Director of Regional Engagement for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Koch praised FirstEnergy engineers and line workers for their meticulous assembly process. “FirstEnergy’s crew is really caring,” she added. “They treat these bikes as if their own children will be riding them.”
Aaron Timbrook, a FirstEnergy IT applications analyst and avid cyclist, brought his personal bike stand and tools to assist with the assembly. “Volunteering is something I’m passionate about, and this aligns with my interests,” he said.
Koch emphasized that learning to ride a bicycle gives children independence, confidence, and physical and mental strength. However, many families in the area cannot afford to buy a bicycle.
Since its inception ten years ago, the Build A Bike program has provided 2,100 bicycles to children in need. The 2024 event marked its 10-year milestone by assembling 600 bikes—double the number donated in 2023.
“That’s 2,100 smiling kids who have some freedom and feel the wind in their hair,” Koch said.
Loren Dalla Betta, a Transmission Engineering Supervisor at FirstEnergy who also volunteered at the event, shared his enthusiasm for community involvement. Like Timbrook, his first bike was a BMX model. “I had my fair share of falls,” he recalled.
After three hours of work, volunteers produced over 700 pounds of empty cardboard bike boxes ready for recycling alongside rows of newly assembled bicycles awaiting their young riders.
To learn more about FirstEnergy’s community involvement initiatives visit Community (firstenergycorp.com).
