The basketball game looked a little unusual at the Highwood Recreation Center Wednesday evening. The players were fast and loose with the rules, and concepts like “offense” and “defense” were less critical than running as fast as possible to get the ball.
The players, all kindergarteners, are part of Finish Strong Kids, a local youth sports organization for preschool to middle school-aged youths. They’ll be helping raise money next week with several charity games to give other kids like them free bicycles.
Finish Strong owner and coach Ed Reformado, who hopes to make the bicycle drive an annual tradition, said the idea for a charity event came from the basketball season’s built-in buffer week at the end of the year, in case inclement weather canceled a game.
With the season coming to a close and the group’s families more than happy to play for another week, Reformado said he wanted to do something special.
“I was just thinking, well, we have this whole week, the kids still would like to play more basketball and I figured with the holidays coming up, let’s do some good,” he said.
He was inspired to raise money for bicycles because of his own family, Reformado said, watching the joy his daughters got from riding their bikes.
“I see them light up,” he said. “Usually at the end of the day, I’m working on my feet, I’m tired. But no matter what, when they’re like, ‘Want a bike ride?’ everything goes away. You don’t even think about how tired you are.”
The charity games will be at the Highwood Recreation Center and Holy Cross Lutheran Church on Monday evening. The fundraising goal is about $5,000, Reformado said, for 20 new bikes from Kiddles Sports, which will donate two bikes for free and provide the rest at a discount. Parents have been encouraged to donate to the GoFundMe, and donations from anyone else in the community are welcome, he said.
“It’s just a win-win for everybody,” he said. “They’re excited that their kids get to play an extra game. I think it’s a very special place, and that’s how our parents feel, too.”
Reformado said he hopes to make the event an annual charity drive and expand it in the future. This year, the bikes will go to the Roberti Community House in Waukegan.
“Once I heard about them, I knew right away that we should really focus and target helping that community this year, and hopefully next year we can make it bigger and help others,” he said.
Lindsey Block, whose kids play with Finish Strong, is glad about the positive influence the charity drive will have both on the players and the community. Riding a bike is a “right of passage” for many kids, and she praised the club for giving that opportunity to children who might not have gotten the chance.
“It’s great,” she said. “I think it helps the program be a little more holistic. They offer all these programs for the youth, but this is about giving back to the community.”
For Reformado, the charity event is a good way to cap off the year.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” he said. “Sometimes we get caught up in the day-to-day. I know I wanted to do good, and maybe it’ll hit once we actually bring the bicycles to the Roberti Community House.”
