The Statesboro AMBUCS are rolling out the red carpet . . . literally. Their Hollywood-themed fundraiser, Stars for Trykes, is scheduled for Friday, February 28, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Connection Church in Statesboro. The admission fee, only $10, helps the AMBUCS, whose tagline is "inspiring mobility & independence," raise money for Amtrykes, specialized bikes that cost anywhere from $500 to $2000 for individuals with special needs.
You can purchase tickets online here.
Caroline Bowman, president of the Statesboro AMBUCS, describes Stars for Trykes as a combination of Dancing with the Stars and Tim Tebow's Night to Shine, and will feature participants of different abilities who are paired with Georgia Southern athletes walking a red carpet and performing together. The event will also include a silent auction and local celebrity judges Trish Tootle, Derek Noel, and Dal Cannady.
Every act will receive a superlative award highlighting what is special about their performance, and there will be a People's Choice Award for the act that raises the most funds.
In addition, members of the Statesboro Fire Department will be attending as honored guests thanks to the vital role they play in the Amtrykes mission.
"They actually put all of them together for us, so we need to give a shout-out to our Statesboro Fire Department," Bowman says.
In addition to providing Amtrykes free of charge to individuals who qualify, the Statesboro AMBUCS provides a scholarship to a speech, physical, or occupational therapy student to assist with their education, and the group will help provide Statesboro with an ADA-compliant playground later this year.
"This year's class of Leadership Bulloch is building phase one of that playground on the YMCA property," Bowman explains. "The YMCA gifted the land for it to be built."
In just under twelve short years, the Statesboro AMBUCS have "shouldered together" for good to provide help for differently-abled children and adults, and now have the status that allows them to operate as an independent charter.
"We chartered in January of 2024, but we've operated and given away the Amtrykes since 2013," Bowman says.
Prior to last winter, the Statesboro AMBUCS operated under the Savannah chapter. The local group was so successful in their donations they decided to apply for charter status, having the distinction of being one of only five AMBUCS charters in the state of Georgia. According to ambucs.org, approximately 5,000 members operate in 157 chapters in over 36 states.
The founder of the AMBUCS (which is an acronym for American Business Clubs), William L. White, started the first chapter in 1922. Its 50 members adopted the teamwork mindset and coined the club's motto still in use over a century later: Shoulders Together.
Later, in the 1990s, Sue Haywood, a pediatric physical therapist, used an adaptive tryke with her patients and saw the positive impact it had on their muscle tone, strength, and sense of self-efficacy; however, these trykes were expensive. After sharing one bike among all of her patients for some time, she began to think of the increased progress these individuals would make if they had a tryke of their own. She approached her local chapter with the challenges she was facing and they made the unanimous decision to adopt the Amtryke project nationwide, and the endeavor continues to this day.
For information about how to join the Statesboro AMBUCS, please visit their Facebook or Instagram page.
