Keep an eye out around Catasauqua Borough for young Jace Reed and his new set of wheels.

The Catasauqua resident suffers from cerebral palsy, cortical visual impairment, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and left-sided hemiparesis after a car accident when he was 6 months old.

His grandmother and primary caregiver, Dena Reed, embarked on a quest to get Jace a new bike utilizing Friendship Circle’s Great Bike Giveaway contest.

The Great Bike Giveaway is a platform where people can raise funds for adaptive bikes at a discounted price. Friendship Circle works with adaptive bike companies from around the world to provide adaptive bikes for children and teens with special needs.

Reed noted she found the Great Bike Giveaway contest by accident. Jace was outgrowing the tricycle he had, and she was searching the Internet for information about adaptive bikes when the Great Bike Giveaway popped up.

While she said she found other companies and organizations that help fund bikes, she decided to go for it with the Great Bike Giveaway.

“I thought ‘What the heck - I have nothing to lose by trying,’” she said. “The timing happened to be perfect. The contest was starting about a week after I found out about it.”

The Great Bike Giveaway provides three ways a child can receive a bike. Registrants can ask for donations and raise the funds needed to purchase the bike. Due to the partnership with Friendship Circle, many bike companies offer discounted bikes through this event.

Registrants who receive 50 votes or more will be entered into a random drawing for the bike they are interested in winning.

The final option is for the registrant with the most votes. This person will win a free bike of his choosing.

According to Reed, Jace technically won by receiving the most votes, but due to generous donations from friends, family and the community, he raised enough money to purchase the discounted bike.

They needed to raise $1,850 for the bike, which normally retails for $2,800.

Since they managed to raise enough money, those funds went toward purchasing the bike. The child with the next highest number of votes who did not manage to raise the funds received the bike through the vote category. This happened to be the child with the third highest number of votes, according to Reed.

According to its website, the Great Bike Giveaway has raised more than $1 million and provided more than 1,000 adaptive bikes for children and teens with special needs over the past six years. The website notes bike riding provides children with necessary exercise, has therapeutic value and offers an inclusive environment for children to ride a bike like everyone else.

Reed noted they also received private donations that went toward a riding helmet. Any additional funds have been set aside for future needs.

“Jace also swims and does therapeutic horseback riding, in addition to regular therapies and schooling,” Reed said.

She noted the timing was perfect. She did not expect them to actually receive the bike until late April or early May, but it arrived March 30.

“Jace absolutely loved it,” Reed said. “He started smiling and chuckling as soon as he started to ride. Seeing that smile made our day.”

She noted Jace has not been able to do his usual therapies since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Since he is not going to his normal therapy, Reed said Jace has regressed a bit when walking in the gait trainer.

She hopes being able to get out and ride the new bike will help loosen his leg muscles and help him walk better in the gait trainer.

Reed is thankful to everyone who helped make this possible for Jace. Reed reflected she started all this on a whim and never really expected Jace to win.

“If not for this wonderful community and my support sites on social media, this never would have happened,” she said. “There were several businesses we sent fliers to, and they hung it up to help us get votes.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child. I have to say I have the best village ever,” Reed said.