RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) – Build Abbott, a program where foster kids who are part of the Abbott House get to be hands-on in rebuilding a motorcycle.
“When we first started today, half of the group was kind of reserved and holding back and now they’re diving in and they’re saying ‘I want to take the bolt of first, no I want to do this one,’ so it’s kind of neat to see them come out of their shell,” says James Washnok from Blackout Industries.
This program was already being done on the other side of the state and the Abbott House teamed up with Blackout Industries to bring it to the Black Hills.
They all first got together in February where the kids got the chance to go to the Harley Davidson in Rapid City to learn and ask questions about motorcycles.
And now they all have been able to design how they want the bike to look.
“It’s going to be a one-of-a-kind bike designed first hand by these kids which is really really exciting. The kids have had the final decision in all of the parts from handlebars to the taillights, they’ve picked every part,” says Katie Washnok from Blackout Industries.
The kids got to choose how they wanted the motorcycle to look and the winning designs will be given to an artist to bring their imagination to real life.
And at Saturday’s event, they announced not only the winning designs but also the name of the motorcycle, Inspire, which will be given away in a $100 raffle.
Virginia Wishard-Lambert from the Abbott House says the money raised from the bike will go towards additional therapy for the kids and she says this bike is a therapy project in itself.
“For a lot of these kids, they’ve never had a chance to experience a bike before and it’s very empowering for them to say hey I built that motorcycle,” says Lambert.
There will only be 750 raffle tickets sold and you can head to our website for a link.
