Groups of Sharks and SAP employees and interns, as well as supporters of the Sharks Foundation and TurningWheels for Kids, worked in teams for approximately three hours to complete the 350 bikes. Special guest volunteers included team mascot S.J. Sharkie, Sharks broadcaster Randy Hahn and color analyst Jamie Baker, as well as Sharks Co-Presidents John Tortora and Jonathan Becher.
At the conclusion of the event various non-profits, including
Cityteam
who will provide 75 of the bikes to low income families during the holiday season as gifts, came to SAP Center to pick-up the bikes. The remaining bikes will be distributed by the non-profits to kids for a variety of reasons including those who need a reliable mode of transportation to school, or as a reward to those who have excelled in the non-profit's program.
"Taking one day out of our busy lives can help create a long lasting impact within our communities. The dedication and hard work I witnessed today shows that altruism remains one of the pillars of our SAP Culture and our internship program," said Caitie Sullivan, SAP Strategy, Operations and Silicon Valley lead for Internship Experience Project.
The Sharks Foundation and SAP have held a longstanding partnership in giving back to the community. Since the partnership began in 2014, they have co-dedicated more than $1.8 million to local non-profits, schools, teachers and youth-focused programs.
There are no breaks in hockey as the summer months keep the entire Sharks organization busy in the offseason. In addition to the bike build, in June the Sharks Foundation completed its fourth
KaBOOM! playground build
at Morgan Autism Center in partnership with Groupware Technology. The Sharks Foundation will officially kick off its 2018-19 season-long
giving campaign
in September with other healthy living-themed activations and a
Blacktop Resurfacing Street Hockey
project in partnership with Kaiser Permanente in October.
