FOXBORO, Mass. (WLNE) — It was all smiles and sweet rides at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, as Patriots tight end Hunter Henry gifted 70 bikes to foster children across New England.
“It’s getting beautiful outside,” Henry said. “So to be able to gift these kids something so simple as a bike, that we can take for granted sometimes, just to get outside and be able to ride around with your friends, is pretty special.”
Foster care organization Communities for People partnered with UnitedHealthcare to put on the event.
“It’s the freedom you have, that ability to get out and be part of the community,” Eric Swain of UnitedHealthcare said.
“I remember going to visit my friends on bikes,” Communities for People CEO Craig Gordon said. “I would bike to school, I biked to work.”
Geancarlos Polanco said he had a bike growing up in Providence but needed a new set of wheels.
“You see your friends riding with bikes all the time,” he said “Sometimes people don’t have bikes.”
Stephanie Decelles traveled up from Coventry to get a bike with her niece.
“We live right next door to a park, so we will definitely be riding, and hopefully we can get off training wheels soon,” she said. “The smile was an amazing feeling as a mom, she loves it.”
Other Patriots players joined in on the fun, including quarterback Drake Maye.
Henry said seeing the kids riding bikes took him back to his childhood.
“A lot of races in the street with the neighborhood kids,” he said. “See who’s the fastest rider, I know there’ll probably be a lot of races with these kids.”
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