I won my first bike in a school contest selling candy bars. It was a game-changer. Living close enough to town, it felt like having my own car at eight years old. For many kids, that first bike is a small miracle—a way around the neighborhood, a chance to go farther and faster, and a first taste of independence.

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Stoup Brewing in Capitol Hill will swap kegs for Allen wrenches as volunteers team up with the national nonprofit Can’d Aid and Boston-based frozen Greek yogurt company Yasso to assemble 100 bikes. The next morning, those shiny new wheels will roll into Central District’s Bailey Gatzert Elementary, where every first grader will get one.

“We always try to identify a Title I school within close proximity of the build so volunteers understand the immediate impact on local children,” says Diana Hicks, Can’d Aid founder and executive director. “82% of the students at Bailey Gatzert Elementary are on free or reduced lunch and the needs are great. It is less than 1 mile from the brewery where bikes are being built.”

This is part of Can’d Aid and Yasso’s third annual effort to get underserved kids moving, with more than 1,200 bikes set for donation across the U.S. in 2025. It’s also an answer to some sobering numbers: children in the U.S. average seven hours a day on screens, and only one in five gets the exercise they need.

“Can’d Aid was built on the belief that everyone has the ability to give back and do good,” Hicks says. “By eliminating all barriers to volunteering—we provide all tools, equipment and instruction—and hosting a free event in a fun space, we hope to maximize turnout and show folks how easy and fun it can be to give back in their own communities.”

Volunteers are still needed to help make it happen. Sign up here.

Founded in 2013, Can’d Aid is a national nonprofit that has donated more than 12,800 bikes, 8,900 skateboards, and 4,000 instruments to kids in underserved communities, while also supporting recycling and community engagement programs.