NFL Running Back Melvin Gordon Knows a Free Bike Is Always the Best Gift

From Bicycling

With the help of L.A. Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, 100 kids (ages 5-12) in Carson, California, walked away with a new bike for Christmas earlier this month.

Gordon, who is currently helping lead his team to the NFL playoffs, partnered with Rally Cycling for the third year in a row to host a “Holiday Bike Build,” where children were allowed to decorate brand new bicycles and then take them home. The children are a part of Gardena’s Falcons Youth and Family Services, an organization that helps provide hunger relief and education to inner-city kids in L.A.

For the afternoon, children listened to Gordon speak as he shared the importance of living an active lifestyle. He led them through kid-friendly football drills and other activities at the StubHub Center in Carson. By the end of the day, each child was walking away with a new bike, lock, and helmet.

Like others who participate in bike giveaways across the country, Gordon said that he does it to bring a smile to a child’s face while also letting them know how important it is to stay active. And providing a bike to kids in need is one of the easiest ways to make that happen.

“Not every kid can afford a bike,” Gordon said in his video with Rally Health. “To be able to get a bike and go home knowing ‘this is mine’ and that this was given to me from somebody just from the heart [is important]. Not because they expected something from it.

“I’m in a position now to help other kids out and give them something I didn’t have

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