Big Impact for Little People

If you are a fan of Extreme Makeover Home Edition, you might have caught Sunday night’s episode (October 16, 2011).

The Makeover team designed a new house for the Korpai Family in New York. Hailey Korpai is a dwarf.

In a nutshell, here’s the Korpai Family story:

After giving birth to Hailey, Jimmy and Darlene Korpai turned their attention to advocating for their little girl. As President and Vice-President of Little People of New York, their goal is to erase ignorance, increase understanding and give families of Little People support and help.

Back in August, design representatives of Extreme Makeover Home Edition contacted us to build a Bantam Bike Friday for Hailey.

[Read the Behind the scenes story]

From the outset, we were told there were no guarantees our product would make the final show. It did not make the cut. But that wasn’t why we got involved in the first place.

We were referred to Extreme Makeover by Little People of America, an organization we have worked closely with over the years to get Bantam Bike Fridays to Little People.

“The most important thing to remember is that when a Little Person gets a bike, it literally changes their life,” says Walter Lapchynski, our Bike Consultant who specializes in Bantam Bike Fridays. Walter has attended the Little People of America convention in the past, and researched ways for us to make Bantam Bike Fridays for individuals with sizing challenges. “It’s very difficult for Little People to find bikes that are a real solution for them.”

Rob English holds Hailey's bike, the smallest he has designed.

We are proud to say that we didn’t stop with Hailey’s bike.

We have created a partnership with Little People of America to help other individuals get bicycles. If you go to the Little People of America homepage, and click on the orange DONATE button it will take you to the Donation Page. From there,  Click here to donate will take you to the form for donations. Under the Reason/Program for Donation drop-down list, you will find the BIKE FRIDAY FUND.

By donating to that fund, you can help us build Bantam Bikes for Little People. Each time we have received enough money to build a bike, Little People of America will award it to a deserving individual.

In addition, Bike Friday has created a special discount for members of the Little People of America.

 


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