Océ Builds, Donates Bikes to Kids

A team of Océ North America employees from the U.S., Germany, The Netherlands, Canada and Mexico has contributed more than 2,000 volunteer hours building and donating bicycles to the children of enlisted personnel who otherwise couldn’t afford them.

During a team-building event at the company’s 2011 National Sales Conference, 260 Océ North America employees built and decorated ninety-five bicycles valued at $18,000. The volunteers assembled four different sizes of bikes for boys and girls ages six to 14, complete with helmets, flags and personal notes from each team to the child who will receive the bike. Océ donated the bicycles to the Creech and Nellis Air Force Base First Sergeants Council for distribution to children in need. In addition, Océ Wide Format Printing Systems donated $3,000 to Child Haven, a local non-profit organization serving young victims of abuse, to purchase 12 cribs.

“This is a great program that will ensure that Air Force children are not forgotten this holiday season,” said First Sergeant, Joel Buys of the First Sergeants Council. “For many of these kids, this will be the first bike they’ve ever owned. The Océ contribution will mean the world to them.”

In addition to nine first sergeants who were on hand to help out with the event, 16 local children ages five to 13 judged the bikes based on criteria such as “first team to complete one bike,” “first team to complete and decorate a second bike,” and “coolest” or “best-decorated bike.” At the conclusion of the event, Océ presented the child judges with store gift cards and invited them to select a bike of their own to take home.

“Building bikes for the First Sergeants Council was a rewarding experience that touched the hearts of everyone who participated. It was even more meaningful when we saw the looks on the faces of the child judges when we told them they could take home their favorite bike. They had no idea that they would receive bikes themselves,” said Patrick Chapuis, president of Océ North America’s Wide Format Printing Systems division.