A NASCAR driver is making the Christmas season bright for children in his hometown of Mitchell, Indiana.
Chase Briscoe wanted to make sure they had their own set of wheels, so he decided to give 700 of them bicycles, WTHR reported Monday.
Watch video here:
Briscoe thanked the Gene Haas Foundation and Huffy Bicycles for making the idea a reality. He also remembered riding around the streets on his own bike as a child with friends, therefore, the memory made the gifts even more special to him.
“I would make a race track out of chalk and we’d race and just ride up and downtown, so it’s going to be really cool to be able to let these kids experience those same memories I had,” he said.
An image shows Briscoe with one of the children excited to receive a bicycle:
NASCAR Driver Chase Briscoe returned to his hometown of Mitchell on Monday to deliver new bikes to every student in Mitchell schools between kindergarten and fifth grade.https://t.co/RFd5cj2eRn pic.twitter.com/1EnS0mWLy1
— WRTV Indianapolis (@wrtv) December 19, 2023
He got help building the bikes from teachers, local business owners, and other neighbors. In addition, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) is planning to give tickets to those who helped build them as a thank you, Briscoe said.
One mother told WLKY the gift was a very special one for her child. “She’s not had a new bike in… probably ever, so this is really cool!”
Video footage shows a gymnasium’s bleachers filled with excited students. Meanwhile, Hatfield Elementary School Principal Steve Grissom said he has known Briscoe since he was a child and taught him as a 7th grader.
“For me to welcome him back into now my building as a role model for my students was just fabulous. I mean it’s heartwarming,” he explained:
Briscoe, bikes and #TheBrickyard tickets.
With the Holiday spirit in mind, @ChaseBriscoe_14 donated over 700 bikes to elementary school students in Mitchell, Indiana, and #IMS donated #NASCAR tickets to those who assembled the bikes. pic.twitter.com/NBWg92EPDu
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) December 20, 2023
A grandmother was ecstatic when she learned about the huge gift the children would be receiving.
“Where else is this happening like this? I mean there’s bikes galore in here. And there’s gonna be some very happy kids at Christmas. We owe Chase, you know?” she said.