PNC Donates 55 Tricycles to Help Head Start of Fayette County

PNC and Allegheny General Hospital have teamed together to announce "Trikes for Trails," a donation of tricycles and safety helmets for use by children in communities across southwestern Pennsylvania. On September 25, 2008, fifty-five trikes were donated to Head Start of Fayette County. Head Start of Fayette County received the new tricycles to celebrate the near completion of the Great Allegheny Passage trail between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md. The tricycle donation will foster physical activity among families and young children, for whom exercise is critical to their well being, and is made possible by PNC Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million investment to help prepare children from birth to age five for success in school and life. The trikes are part of a total of 335 tricycles - one for each mile of the trail - that were distributed beginning the week of Sept. 22 in preparation for the PNC Legacy Trail Ride Oct. 3 - 4. Allegheny General Hospital of Pittsburgh has donated an equal number of safety helmets.

Colette Sandzimier, vice president of Early Childhood Development for The Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette explains how this project came about: "In the spring of 2008, Mia Hallett Bernard of PNC Foundation contacted us to ask if we would be willing to assist the foundation in a tricycle donation in the fall of 2008. In early September Ann Adams of PNC contacted us to discuss the number of tricycles we would be willing to distribute as part of this donation. Fred Solomon worked on the delivery schedule with me and Joe Balaban from PNC contacted me about planning the media event. Head Start accepted 55 donated tricycles. We will be raffling the tricycles off to our families in three ways. One, each family attending a parent meeting in October and November will be entered into a drawing to win a tricycle. Second, each Head Start parent who participates in completing the initial survey for our PNC grant will have their child's name entered into a drawing for a tricycle. We will donate one per Head Start classroom. Third, each family who submits their child's complete, and up to date, medical and dental information within the required federal timeframes will have their child's named placed in a drawing for a chance to win a tricycle. Our goal is to have all 55 tricycles raffled off to families before the December holiday season."

The planned completion of the Great Allegheny Passage is a key element of the Pittsburgh 250 initiative. The Private Industry Council is grateful to PNC and Allegheny General Hospital for their generous donation to our Head Start program and is honored to be a part of the celebration of the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage.

From left are (front) Kayla Dugan, senior ECD manager Tonya Pierce, Tah' Neyjah Perez, bus driver Carol Middleton, Antonio Walters, and ECD manager Sue Polojac; (back) PNC branch manager Matt Kremposky, Private Industry Council President Tim Yurcisin, PNC vice president senior business advisor and Private Industry Council board member John A. Malone, PNC regional manager vice president Seema Batra, PNC vice president Christopher F. Marino and PNC assistant vice president Jessica Dvorchak Haley.