By Patricia Alvarez
STOCKTON- Last week we were notified of a post by a mother whose daughter had her bike stolen. Bikes are stolen every day in Stockton, but Jocelyn’s bike was special, and specifically designed for her disabilities.
209 Times shared the post to our more than 200,000 followers and founder and community leader Motecuzoma Sanchez reached out to Jocelyn’s mother Alexis Villa after receiving a call from the CEO of PDL Youth Foundation, Destiny Rivas who is also a part of Winners Bingo and an active leader of the local Native American community.
Destiny Rivas who collaborates with Winners Bingo. Winners Bingo founders saw the post and wanted to help by not just helping find the bike, but buying Jocelyn a brand new one.
“Winner’s Bingo saw that someone stole from a disabled child and we wanted to make it right. Our community needs to come together where and when we can. We need to be good neighbors and help each other. That is the whole reason Padrino Lopez our founder started the Bingo Hall to help nonprofits and families in need. We call ourselves a Bingo Family for a reason. We are grateful we saw this post and were able to help one of our neighbors”, Destiny said in a statement.
By working together with community connections, 209 Times, Winners Bingo, PDL Youth Foundation, Destiny Rivas, and Motecuzoma Sanchez were able to coordinate the $1,600 purchase of a brand new bike of Jocelyn that her mother Alex was able to personally pick out.
Alex expressed her gratitude , “I will like to thank organizations who helped get my daughter a new bike. Winners Bingo, PDL youth foundation, and 209 Times. The out pour of support from our community is amazing. Jocelyn was born with Spinal Bifida. It’s a condition that effects the nerves. Because of it she has week muscles. She can’t do regular sport like most kids. When she was 8 years old Shirners Hospital held a program for kids with disabilities. It taught kids how to do adaptive exercise. They also had adaptive bikes the kids could use. At the end of the program they gifted each child with their very own bike. The bike meant so much to her. When her bike was stolen she was devastated. But thanks to the generous donation from Winners Bingo, PDL youth foundation, and 209 Times she will once gain be able to ride again. Thank again. We are extremely grateful for what you have done for my daughter”.
Jocelyn’s bike is on custom order and is expected to be delivered in 6-8 weeks. “That’s what we’re here for, bringing community together and helping out where we can. In this case that was possible because so many people reached out wanting to make the public aware the bike was stolen and Winners Bingo really stepped up to the plate to go out of their way and buy Jocelyn a brand new one. I’m grateful our community has organizations like them and happy for Jocelyn and her family. Always glad to help”, said Sanchez.
Thank you Winners Bingo!
