Chris and Cindy Guinan, of Winchester Park, last week paid a pre-Christmas visit to Shriners Hospital for Children, 3551 N. Broad St., making several children happy for the holidays and setting a milestone.
Three generations of the Guinan family have a long tradition of providing bicycles to needy young people.
Chris and Cindy’s children, Christian and Lauren, and granddaughter, Sophia, 12, a sixth-grader at St. Jerome Elementary School, are also heavily involved in the charitable effort.
The Guinans paint, clean and repair donated bicycles year round in the backyard of their home. The finished product is “like new.” The three bikes donated Dec. 20 at Shriners were brand new.
The work has been going on for 12 years, and the donations at Shriners marked the 2,000th bicycle given away. In all, Shriners has received more than 100 over the years.
Other organizations that have benefited from the outreach include Rock Ministries, Intercultural Family Services, Congreso, Esperanza and Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association.
Sophia plays soccer for Huntingdon Valley AA and basketball for Somerton, and her teammates and St. Jerome classmates visit the house to clean, lube and paint the bicycles.
SEPTA senior management and employees and Burns Waste/Recycling owner Richard Burns have partnered with the Guinans by donating bikes to repair and distribute and delivering some of them. Chris Guinan is a SEPTA retiree, and Christian and Lauren are employees. Business owner Bob Woodard has provided storage and work space.
Anyone who wants to donate a bicycle can email Chris Guinan at cguinan8119@gmail.com. ••
