Smiles for Christmas Project

On Tuesday night, The Housing Authority of Elgin hosted their 5th Annual Smiles For Christmas Project at the Centre of Elgin. HAE gave out over 50 bicycles with helmets and bike locks to children who are residents of HAE. The recipients' parents/guardians attended the Family Self Sufficiency Financial Education and Empowerment workshop. The Elgin Police Department were also there to help each child get their bike registered with EPD, as well.

The event is made possible through the leadership of HAE and EPD. It is also made possible through the generosity of a variety of local businesses and organizations as sponsors. Several larger businesses, such as Walmart and Giant Bicycle, also provided sizable donations.

Smiles for Christmas is a joy-filled event. It was pleasure to watch all the children receive their bikes and it was equally joyful to see the officers turn into big kids as they helped move bicycles around the room. It was a great reminder of the fun that bicycle riding brings to young and old. 

HAE CEO, Damon Duncan joked during his remarks that they will keep doing this until we have bikes that we can trade bike lanes for car lanes in Elgin. Duncan may have been joking, but I'll cheer that sentiment to make sure that all the residents of Elgin have access to the right transportation tools for their transportation needs.