We are beyond grateful, humbled and honored to have been able to attend and support Cure SMA at the 10th Annual Muscles for Mckenna Gala in Philadelphia this past Friday, March 18th. What a proud moment for EBT!
This wonderful event is focused on finding a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) through the help of donations and sponsors. Electric Bike Technologies was a happy sponsor on several levels, donating a bike for the live auction and giving an additional direct donation to help support families affected by this disease.
SMA - a genetic neuromuscular disease - has generally been believed to affect as many as 10,000 to 25,000 children and adults in the United States, and therefore it is one of the most common rare diseases.
A little backend story: Mckenna was diagnosed with SMA just at 3 years old. Now she's 13 and through continued strength and determination, she is thriving and has become an inspiration for many. Through continued funding, raising awareness and amazing events like this, there are now drugs out there that can halt and even cure the disease when caught early enough. How incredible is that?! Ten years ago when Mckenna was diagnosed, kids with SMA weren't expected to have life longevity.
Mckenna was gifted a Liberty Trike back in August 2020 and just within this past year, she has been able to put a whole 500 miles on it - a tidbit she mentioned in her speech as she thanked Liberty Trike. "I can't tell you what that feels like, but I can tell you that I didn't expect it, and it hit hard", said Jason.
Mckenna on her new pink trike in 2020
Mckenna was the second child to ever receive a Liberty Trike through our program and since then, we've made it a company mission to continue striving towards getting more kids on trikes. It's almost life-changing for many of these kids and if we can make even the smallest positive impact on their happiness, we're all for it!
That said, we're excited to announce that EBT will be providing 20 Liberty Trikes to kids in need, and we can't wait!
Want to help give the gift of liberty? Click here to contribute and help a child in need of a Liberty Trike.
Do you feel Liberty Trike is right for your child? Click here to fill out an application.