Hundreds of young city boys and girls who are living in public housing enjoyed a bright Christmas Day, thanks to kind-hearted members of Plumbers & Gasfitters Local 12 of Boston who funded the purchase of 200 bicycles and helmets by the BHA to distribute among them.
“This is our way of giving back,” Local 12 Business Manager James Vaughan said. “Our members live in these communities, and we are grateful we have jobs and resources to help others. At Christmas time, there is nothing more rewarding than being able to give back and make the holiday special for a child. Thanks to all of our members for helping out with this important, and fun, holiday event.”
Dozens of members of Local 12, the largest plumbers union in Massachusetts, recently participated in the union’s first-ever Build-a-Bike charity event, gathering at their Dorchester union hall to assemble the bikes, which were delivered to the kids during Christmas week.
The bikes and helmets were purchased at Ashmont Cycles in Dorchester for $70,000, which was raised at the Local 12 golf tournament.
Among the Local 12 members who helped in the Build-a-Bike event were James Vaughan, Joseph Kyne, Rick Carter, Darren MacDonald, Frank Amato, Harry Brett, Thomas McCarthy, Tim Fandel, Andrew Fontana, Patrick Vaughan; Michael Vaughan, Ray Chandler-Melancon, Sean Glennon, Dean Renzello, Anthony Iannalfo, Andrea Turner, Patricia Canning-Williams, Michael Amato, Patrick Doolan, Harry Carter; Benjamin O’Brien, Andrew Devlin, Harry Hennessy, Marc LaSala, Claudio M. Betencourt Rodriguez, Matt McGonagle, Ryan Baker, Finn Harrington, Craig Regan, Loretta Lennon; Cillian Collins, Chris Brett, Michael Picariello, Timothy Bouzan, Chris and Summer Redfearn, Malek Ferhani, Lawrence Garside, Aarin Garside, Vivian Garside, Carl Gravenkemper, Thomas Nguyen, Paul MacPhee, Patrick Dean and Franklin Marcelo.
