Peabody's Carol White Honored With New England Patriots Myra Kraft Community MVP Award

PEABODY, MA — The New England Patriots and Kraft Family recently presented Peabody's Carol White with a $10,000 donation and the Myra Kraft Community MVP Award for her efforts to promote outdoor activity for seniors through Cycling Without Age.

The program provides access to trishaws — bicycles with covered seating in the front — that allow seniors with mobility issues the chance to experience the outdoors and a sense of cycling.

White was one of 26 volunteers recognized this year at Gillette Stadium on June 6 with more than $275,000 presented in donations to volunteers and their respective organizations.

"Every year, nonprofit organizations across New England put forth candidates that demonstrate what volunteerism and giving back truly is and who represent the very best of our community," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "My late wife Myra, of blessed memory, was passionate about giving back and making a difference in people’s lives. I am proud to see her legacy of volunteerism upheld through these awards, celebrating those who selflessly serve their communities as true Community MVPs."

White started a Cycling Without Age Massachusetts Chapter in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis when many seniors — including her own mother — were isolated and could not get outside because of age, cognitive and mobility issues.

She made a $5,000 donation of her own money to purchase the first trishaw for the effort in Massachusetts.

"My mission to bring a trishaw to every nursing home in Massachusetts started about four years ago," she said. "I've always been a bike rider and after spending nearly four years visiting my mom every morning in a nursing facility, except for COVID when we were locked out, I knew I had to take on this task.

"My mom, Lois, has since passed without getting a ride, but I continued my efforts in her memory and named my first trishaw 'TheLoieee.'"

White's program provides rides to seniors up and down a local bike path, providing fresh air and a connection to the "driver" along the way. She is looking to expand the program through training younger people to volunteer as drivers and provide support for nursing home and senior housing residents.

"My mom taught me at a very young age, when you feel down/sad or just out of sorts, do something for someone else," she said. "Take the focus off you. Truth be told, I get so much joy out of giving rides and conversing with my passengers.

"The minute I get on my bike, I feel like a kid again and the fact that I get to pass that feeling on to those less fortunate than me because of physical and/or mental limitations is so rewarding."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)