AMBUCS Donates Its 10,000 AmTryke

It was only a matter of time.

Ever since the AmTryke therapeutic tricycle was introduced in the summer of 1989, the number of individuals over the years who have benefitted from its unique features has increased exponentially. So much so, that the AMBUCS
organization was recently able to celebrate a major milestone when it donated its 10,000th AmTryke this fall.

To honor that accomplishment, a special ceremony was held on August 19 in Longview, TX – the place where the AmTryke program was first launched. The event, held at the Oak Forest Country Club in Longview, was attended by mayor of Longview and attracted several local media outlets.

“I think it’s just wonderful to see how these tricycles have been fully embraced by the AMBUCS organization
and have been used to help so many people,” said Carmela Davis, a prominent member of the Longview Too AMBUCS chapter and someone who has helped organized a number of fundraising initiatives to purchase more AmTrykes. “AMBUCS members work hard in their communities just so they can raise money and give away AmTrykes to people with disabilities. I am so proud that we have now reached the 10,000 mark, but I can’t wait until we get to a million.”

The fact that the AmTryke program has grown to its current level is something that many who played a role in its creation still have a hard time believing.

“I pinch myself all the time,” said Sue Haywood, a member of the Longview Too chapter and also the National AmBility Advisory board. “Back then, we just wanted to come up with a solution to help people with disabilities but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that it would expand to what it is today.

Haywood, who is affectionately known as the “AmTryke Mama”, is the owner of Kidz First Therapy and was one of the early trailblazers who helped bring the idea of such a tricycle to fruition. During a meeting she had with members of the cross-town Longview chapter, Haywood expressed the need for a trike that could help people with disabilities but was also affordable. Not ones to back down from a challenge, the men of the Longview chapter pledged to come up with a solution. Serving as the lead engineer in the creation of the original AmTryke model was a gentleman named Gene Allen. Together, he and other members of the chapter toiled for a few months before they were able to come up with a prototype.

“We all looked at other existing tricycles and tried to figure out what worked well and mostly what didn’t work well,” Haywood said. “We really wanted something that could be hand or foot powered.”

Initially, the Longview Ambucs created the trikes on a need-by-need basis and just attempted to service children with disabilities in the surrounding area. However, once the word circulated on the AmTrykes’ functionality and therapeutic benefits, the demand quickly skyrocketed. Eventually, it was clear that the job had become much too massive for just a local chapter to undertake and in 1994 National AMBUCS agreed to build and distribute the AmTryke therapeutic tricycle as a national program. Today the program is owned and operated by National AMBUCS™, Inc.
Both physical and occupational therapists acknowledge the AmTryke tricycle’s many therapeutic benefits, citing improved motor skills, strength development and self-esteem. Currently, AMBUCS has been able to donate more than 2000 AmTrykes annually.

Along the way, Haywood and others have been all around the country, helping to spread the program and also giving instructional workshops on how to access and fit individuals for an AmTryke.

“This has really changed my life,” she said. “Every time we give a tryke away it is special,” she said. “I know we are doing the right thing for the right reasons. This is a needed product. AMBUCS members raise the money on their own and provide it to families at no cost. The medical industry is not doing that. What we are doing is really making a difference in people's lives.”