Ensuring a group of Utah children had the cherished moment of seeing their new ride for the first time were employees at Ken Garff in Orem.

Employees purchased — and, in some cases, assembled or pumped up tires for — 100 bikes tailored for 100 kids in foster care to be picked up and taken home from the Ken Garff Volkswagen parking lot Wednesday evening.

“It’s so sweet to be at these projects and to see how excited they are to get a brand new bike,” said Kate Terry, a senior manager at Ken Garff. “What’s also really cute is the employees put name tags on all of their bikes, so it feels even more individual and special.”

According to Terry, Ken Garff’s “We’re ‘Hear’ for You” program is grassroots-driven, meaning the employees themselves decide how they want to give back to the community. She said Ken Garff has worked with Utah Foster Care in the past, and that the employees wanted to do something to support the families.

They reached out to Utah Foster Care, which had families of 100 kids sign up and pick out their type of bike. Employees went out and bought the bikes and got them ready for the big day.

“They’re not paid extra to do any of this,” Terry said., “They just do it out of the goodness of their hearts.”

These types of community outreach efforts are necessary, said Nikki MacKay, CEO of Utah Foster Care, in showing foster families that they matter and that the community cares for them.

“We’re so grateful to have community partners like Ken Garff, providing some of these kids their very first bike, and to see the smiles on their faces and the newfound freedom as they ride away and get to experience that,” MacKay said.

Utah Foster Care is a private, non-profit organization contracted by the Division of Child and Family Services to find, train and support adoptive families care for foster children in Utah, according to the agency.

DCFS reported that 2,863 children received foster care services at some point in 2025, including 1,604 children who were newly placed in foster care, while 1,303 children exited foster care. Utah Foster Care said that at a given time, there are 1,700 kids in foster care statewide and 800 licensed foster or adoptive families.

On Wednesday, 100 kids in the foster system went home happy with a brand-new bicycle.