Preschoolers at the First Church Preschool in Cheshire are raising money to benefit a Closer to Free Ride Team.
This is the second year the preschool has hosted a “Trike-A-Thon,” where the students ride their tricycles around the school.
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WATCH HERE“We work to grow this large sense of community and make our children aware of the bigger world around us,” preschool Director Brenda Ward-Kelley said.
The funds raised will benefit Team Cheshire Rides for Life, which is led by Caitlin Celella.
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SIGN UP “When my husband died of brain cancer two years ago, we wanted to really do something that involved the school as well,” Celella said.
Her youngest son used to attend the school.
“It means a lot. Everybody shows up in the different ways that they’re able to and just seeing all the kids here at once and all of the parents and everybody cheering each other on is uplifting,” Celella said.
The kids road their bikes, cheered on their classmates and then afterward, enjoyed some donuts.
“It’s very exciting,” her eight-year-old son Ralphie said. “It just feels so great to just go around and see all their happy faces going around and around the school.”
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This year’s 15th annual Closer to Free Ride will take place in New Haven this September. Participants will bike up to 100 miles in support of cancer research and patients.
“Everyone is emotional,” Nicole Wichowski said.
Wichowski participated last year and plans to do so again this year.
“It’s just kind of the sense of community that we’re all there together for a great cause," she said.
NBC Connecticut is a proud sponsor of the Closer to Free Ride.
