“Cops Giving Tree:” 100 families get brand new bikes

Not every child gets the chance to learn how to ride a bike. But on Friday night, Soledad police helped make sure local children in need, like 11-year-old Mia Ruiz, have that opportunity.

Ruiz recently moved to Soledad from Sacramento. A new school and home can be hard, so she was personally invited to tonight’s event.

She was a little bit camera-shy, but excited about all of the gifts inside the Soledad Community Center.

“I like the presents up there,” Ruiz said.

She was especially excited about the bicycles, lined up in front of the stage. She has never had a new bike before.

“They’re nice and clean.”

Little did she know, she’d be taking one home.

Her older cousin is thankful the community has been so welcoming.

“She looks really happy right now,” Larry Farmer said. “This community, everything is smaller, so she recognizes people that she goes to school with.”

The Soledad police chief, who used to work in San Jose, says he loves working in a smaller town.

“Something like this would be very difficult in a large city, like where I used to work,” Soledad Police Chief Eric Sills said. “This is probably one of the most impressive events that I’ve every experienced in my career of 33 years.”

Volunteers fed about 500 people, and Ruiz went home happy.

“I’m not sure if she knows how to ride yet,” Farmer said. “But if she doesn’t, we’ll definitely make sure she does.”

Soledad Unified School District, the California State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Correctional Training Facility, Salinas Valley State Prison, South Monterey County YMCA, and the Lion’s Club International all helped make the event possible.