LLU Health Office of Advancement Staff Assemble Bicycles for Nine IE Children

Update 4:15 p.m. The Inland Empire Biking Alliance provided tools for Loma Linda University Health Office of Advancement staff to assemble nine bikes for underprivileged children, Eric Ewing of LLU Health said Friday afternoon.

A member of the IE Biking Alliance also inspected the bikes and made necessary adjustments before LLU Health Office of Advancement staff gave them to the children, to make sure they were safe, Ewing said in an email.

The Inland Empire Biking Alliance is billed as a non-profit organization formed to make cycling safer, easier and more fun for everyone from families to commuting cyclists to mountain bike racers.

Posted 10:35 a.m. People who work at the Loma Linda University Health Office of Advancement helped assemble nine bicycles this week for underprivileged, at-risk children, a university spokesman said Friday.

The children, all from Inland Empire communities, were selected by the Children's Fund of San Bernardino County, accordng to Herbert Atienza of Loma Linda University.

The advancement team includes employees from Loma Linda University departments of marketing, planned giving, public relations, philanthropy, and stewardship, Atienza said.

"These are the people who are usually asking others to contribute money to the university or publicizing it in the press," Rachelle Bussell, senior vice president for advancement at Loma Linda University Health, said in prepared remarks. "We just thought it would be good for them to get an early start on the giving that characterizes the season."

The bike-assembly activity took place Thursday Nov. 29 at the Wong Kerlee International Conference Center, 11175 Campus St., in Loma Linda, Atienza said.

Davieone Marshall, an 8th-grade student from Kolb Middle School in Rialto, said was grateful for a new bike, Atienza said.

"It means I got something I really own," he said. "I feel good for that."

Britnie Beltran, an 11-year old who attends Lyle S. Briggs Fundamental School in Chino, was also pleased, Atienza said.

"I can ride around," she said.

The Children's Fund was created in 1986 and is a non-profit member of the San Bernardino County Children's Network, Atienza said.

Loma Linda University Health includes Loma Linda University's eight professional schools, Loma Linda University Medical Center's six hospitals and 800 faculty physicians located in the Inland Empire of Southern California, according to the university.

Established in 1905, Loma Linda University Health is billed as a Seventh-day Adventist organization, a faith-based health system with a mission "to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ."

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