100 Kids Gather At Heinz Field For Build-A-Bike Day

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Thursday was Build-a-Bike Day in the Steelers Great Hall, at Heinz Field. 100 boxes filled with parts were about to become 100 bicycles, thanks to the work of 100 kids who will wind up owning them. The event, benefiting low income families, is sponsored by the United Way.

"We have 40 teams from 20 of Pittsburgh's largest companies," said Bob Nelkin, president of the United Way of Western Pennsylvania. "They're actually working with the kids, helping the kids assemble their own bikes. And you think about that story. These kids are going to go home, they're going to go back to the community, and they're going to remember this for a long time."

Among the recipients are youngsters with "Best of the Batch," a non-profit started by ex-Steeler Charlie Batch.

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"To have an event like this, to be able to build a bike from scratch, and be able to see that and get excited," he said. "And we'e trying to trick them a little bit, because we want them to be active. Get off that couch and use that bike."

Batch's wife Latasha is president of the Best of the Batch foundation.

"The kids that we brought here today, they don't have bikes," she said. "And we have a bike rack, and they'll be able to use it."

Pittsburgh police officers chip in, as 100 bikes begin to take shape. There's something special about it when you make your own.