[TORONTO, Canada – June 7, 2019] It’s one thing to purchase a new bicycle at the store but something altogether different when you build one yourself. That’s exactly the experience that 50 children from the Toronto area were granted when they participated in the Fifth Annual Bike Build program sponsored by Mondelēz Canada on June 7. Established in 2015, the annual Mondelēz Canada Bike Build program has now provided more than 400 new bicycles to Boys & Girls Club youth in Canada.

Teaming up with Toronto Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs at 101 Spruce Street, volunteers from Mondelēz Canada served as mentors to help the children, ages six to 12, assemble their new bicycles. Part of the Toronto Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs after school programs, 50 kids were given the opportunity to put everything from the wheels to the handlebars on their new high-quality bikes.

“The gift of a new bike provides so many opportunities for kids, from important physical activity to time with family and friends—it really is the gift that keeps on giving,” says Owen Charters, President & CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. “The Mondelēz Bike Build is an inspiring community-based initiative, and we are grateful to Mondelēz Canada employees for donating their time and energy to build bikes for kids at our Toronto Kiwanis Club.”

The 2019 Bike Build in Toronto coincided with Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada’s “Unplug to Connect” day, which encourages all Canadians to spend more time with friends, family and co-workers, and less time in front of their screens.

As part of the June 7th event, Pacific Cycle Inc. donated bike helmets while velofix Owner/Operator Steve Rabjohn and Technician Danny Silva performed mechanical safety checks on all the bikes for the children.

“We are not just handing these members new bikes—they are earning them. They get a sense of accomplishment and pride having built the bikes themselves,” shares Tim Bell, Manager of Children’s Services, Toronto Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs. “At our Club, 30 per cent of a young person’s day is comprised of physical activity. Receiving new bikes from Mondelēz Canada means we are able to increase our members’ physical activity and keep them moving even when they are not in our programs and that’s pretty cool.”

A component of the company’s Cool Moves program, the Mondelēz Canada Bike Build was first inspired by The Bicycle Factory initiative which encourages Canadians to build virtual bikes online that are turned into real bikes for kids in Ghana. Cool Moves encourages an appreciation for healthy active lifestyles and is currently in operation at 12 Boys and Girls Clubs in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan.

“I am proud to be part of the Bike Build program for these five years and there is nothing that compares to seeing the excitement and hearing the gratitude from the children and their families when they realize they are taking home a brand new bicycle,” explains Kim Zichy, Community Coordinator, Corporate & Government Affairs, Mondelēz Canada. “Whether it’s children riding their bikes to school for the first time or Canadian families that can now get out and exercise together, this community-based program is changing lives for the better.”

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For more information, contact:
Gemma Pryor
Mondolez Canada
847-943-5678
news@mdlz.com

About Mondelēz International
Mondelēz International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in approximately 160 countries around the world. With 2017 net revenues of approximately $26 billion, MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum. Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor’s 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDLZ.

By Owen Charters

*this op-ed was recently published on toronto.com

The gymnasium echoes with excited voices as volunteers and Boys and Girls Club members begin tearing boxes open and pulling out bicycle parts.

It’s August in Toronto, and I’m at our Boys and Girls Club in East Scarborough. I’m on hand for the Mondelez Canada Bike Build, an event that pairs Mondelez Canada employee volunteers with young Club members to assemble 50 bicycles. Two days earlier and a little further west, another 50 bicycles were built at Eastview Boys and Girls Club in Greektown.

The best part? Each young person that takes part in assembling a bike gets to take one home. For me, the entire enterprise is summed up by the look on a child’s face as they grip the handlebars of their newly built bike; a combination of immediate joy, future rides unfolding in their imagination, and the pride of ownership that comes from building the bike themselves.

These events are a spinoff of Bicycle Factory, a Mondelez Canada initiative that encourages Canadians to build bikes online. The virtual bikes are then turned into real bikes for kids in rural Ghana, making it easier for them to get to school and gain a valuable education.

Bringing a similar project to Canada only made sense; although bikes are a common sight in Toronto and its suburbs, in reality they are a luxury that many families in our city can’t afford. The gift of a new bike opens up a range of opportunities for a kid, from simply getting around the neighbourhood, to spending quality time with their family, to getting the physical activity they need. And these bikes will stay in the family for years to come, passed down from one sibling to the next.

Sustainability is the key. Not just in the long-term use of the bikes or in the self-esteem and leadership traits instilled in the youth, but also in the community building that takes place at each event. Mondelēz employees get a chance to volunteer in the communities where they work and live, the local Toronto police division runs safe riding workshops, and bike experts from Velofix are onsite to check the mechanical function of each bike before the kids take them home.

The Bike Builds are part of a larger community-based Mondelez Canada program called Cool Moves. Run at Boys and Girls clubs across the country, Cool Moves encourages kids to adopt healthy, active lifestyles through two different streams: Eat Smart, where young people are taught how to make healthy eating choices, and Play Cool, where they are introduced to a variety of physical activities.

And it’s working. To date, nearly 22,000 children and youth in 50 communities across the country have benefited from Cool Moves. And in the Toronto area, we’ve built and donated 400 bikes.

It’s a ripple effect — healthy kids make for healthy communities. And that’s good for everyone.

Adaja Stephenson, a member of Boys & Girls Club of East Scarborough, works on putting together her new bike as part of the Mondelez Canada Bike Build program.

New bicycles assembled by children and their mentors are lined up at Eastview Boys & Girls Club in Toronto.

Martavia Martin, a member of Boys & Girls Club of East Scarborough, gets some help from volunteers to assemble her new bike.