The season of giving is becoming a year-long process for a local company specializing in powersports.
Philadelphia-based Comoto Holdings, which owns the motorcycle gear brand RevZilla at South Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, launched “The Gift of Riding” holiday campaign on Dec. 1. The drive aims to raise money and give away bikes in an effort to engage the motorcycle community over the holiday season.
Each matching pledge up to $25,000 will go to the National Youth Project Using Minibikes, an organization that teaches responsibility and provides mentorship to teens through group minibike rides. The Gift of Riding is a partnership with STACYC, the manufacturer of stability cycles, which are designed to safely introduce children to riding. Together, they will give away 12 stability bikes as part of a holiday sweepstakes.
“Our partnership with STACYC to support the efforts of the National Youth Project Using Minibikes is near and dear to the Comoto family,” said Ken Murphy, president & CEO of Comoto Holdings. “As an organization with hundreds of families that have young riders learning the lifelong skills and confidence gained from our sport, we’re honored to continue that legacy through the programs run by NYPUM.”
Donations can be made through the The Gift of Riding pages on each of the company’s websites, and entries to the sweepstakes can also be made on those pages. They can be found at RevZilla.com/donate, CycleGear.com/donate and JPCycles.com/donate. Additionally, customers at the 148 Cycle Gear stores nationwide will be able to enter and donate by speaking with a sales associate.
Three winners for the stability bike sweepstakes will be drawn each day from Dec. 28 to 31.
The bikes are described as a low-to-the-ground, two-wheel vehicle that a small child can straddle and still have both feet reach the ground in order to learn balance. The STACYC bike has a 20-volt battery that introduces the young rider to powersports in a controlled manner, with three power modes and a top speed of about 10 miles per hour. The dozen bikes being given away retail at a total of about $9,000.
“Sharing the love of riding and the accelerated growth that comes with getting introduced at a young age are both commitments that STACYC works to deliver to its customers and industry,” said Matt Schumann, VP of Marketing at STACYC. “Support from the team at COMOTO with programs like The Gift of Riding is always something that we are excited to align with and help drive.”
In addition, BILT will donate one youth rider package for each winner, valued at $100, complete with helmet, jersey and gloves. It’s everything a young bike enthusiast may need to get started.
“Our main goal is to inspire the motorcycle community, and one of the ways we do that is through our philanthropic program called Comoto Cares,” said Martina Mansell, Communications & Community Relations Specialist at Comoto Holdings. “We’re looking at how we can support the motorcycle community as a whole. One of those ways is by growing the ridership. There are so many groups of people who ride for different reasons, and a lot of them start because they rode little bikes or dirt bikes when they were younger. In order to push the motorcycle community into the future, we have to start with the kids.”
Although this is the first holiday giveaway for the company, it has ramped up its charity work during 2020. This campaign marks the second time this year that all three Comoto retailers have come together for a collective initiative. The Ride is Calling charity campaign in June raised $100,000 to collectively benefit the National Motorcycle Safety Fund, The Kurt Caselli Foundation and Motorcycle Relief Project.
Once the pandemic struck the region, RevZilla began producing goggles to donate to front line emergency workers through the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Emergency Management. Thousands of goggles were donated, with some utilized at nearby Temple University Hospital, Jefferson Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“I feel like everyone at the company is 100 percent behind our commitment to the community and all of the ways that we can get involved,” Mansell said. “Every day someone else emails me about volunteering or sends me an article about a nonprofit that needs help. Everyone is constantly thinking about ways that we as a company can leverage our resources and our abilities to do good in the world.”
