Grinning big: Always B Smiling’s second season of smile-spreading off to great start
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Sydney Stelmaszek, right, smiles at son Emmitt as the family, escorted by Always B Smiling volunteers, embarks on its first adaptive bike ride of summer. Stelmaszek said the bike rides are the only way for the family to get out together.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Alex Yahnke is all smiles as she is strapped into her adaptive bike last week. Yahnke and her dad, Jason, enjoyed their first Always B Smiling ride while mom Danny Piccolo chatted with friends at Tandem Connection.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Inside Always B Smiling’s new barn is a changing table — generously donated by locals — that provides privacy and dignity to youth with disabilities who may need to change after a ride along Montour Trail.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Always B Smiling volunteers and area families gather outside the nonprofit’s new red barn at Tandem Connection last week for a spin along the Montour Trail. Bike rides are always followed by ice cream and crafts.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Emmitt Stelmaszek, 6, plays with a spinner from his Always B Smiling Buddee Bag before getting strapped into an adaptive bike for a family ride along Montour Trail.
For one local nonprofit, there’s a lot to grin about.
Always B Smiling, which aims to bring smiles to children with disabilities and their families, finally has storage space along the Montour Trail and plans for a permanent home in the works.
Last month the nonprofit, which since its founding in 2021 has hosted adaptive bike rides for children and young adults with disabilities on Saturday mornings in summer, built a bright red barn decorated in a colorful Always B Smiling banner on a plot of land by Tandem Connection in Canonsburg.
“Tandem’s awesome,” said Kristin Heine Huibregtse, who runs Always B Smiling with her husband, Dean Huibregtse. “They’ve been so wonderful. They help us with the rentals, the ice cream, let us have this piece of land. Last year, they kept our bike and brought it up for us. The barn … is a huge upgrade. To be able to have the barn to keep all our stuff, house all our bikes… They’ve been just a great partner.”
Every Saturday morning, families of children with disabilities meet at the red barn. Parents and siblings hop astride bikes rented from Tandem, and volunteers sporting cheerful yellow shirts man the adaptive bicycles so families can ride the trail together.
Hitting the trails is something Dean and Kristin did with their son Bennett, a sweet, joyful kid who always wore a smile despite living with the complications of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease.
When Bennett passed away in July 2020 at 16 years old, his parents determined to keep his legacy alive by helping local families spend quality time with their children with disabilities.
“(Bennett) had disabilities and medical challenges. He just had the best spirit. He smiled all the time and was so happy,” said Kristin. “When he passed, we said we’re going to live his legacy … and help these kids. We know that there’s such a big gap outside of school, with not a lot of activities or programming. We want to provide that for the children and teens and young adults, to have things to do outside of school.
“A lot of times, the families never get out to bike because they don’t have something for the child to ride in. It’s almost like a first family bike ride experience for them, so it’s nice.”
Last summer, Always B Smiling was born, with one bicycle, which was kept inside Tandem Connection’s storefront. That first year, Dean and Kristin hosted 40 adaptive bike rides for area families. Now that the nonprofit has acquired two additional bikes through a generous donation and a barn to store those bikes, Dean Huibregtse said he and Kristin aim to host at least 100 rides this season.
“We wanted to expand the program. We were blessed with two people donating additional bikes,” Dean said. “This allows … two or three kids at a time to come out and experience the trail. It just really has allowed us to offer more rides and more opportunities for children and families to get out and enjoy the trail.”
For families like the Stelmaszeks, of Upper St. Clair, Always B Smiling’s adaptive bike rides – followed by ice cream and crafts – are a godsend.
“This is literally the only thing that we do together as a family,” said Sydney Stelmaszek, whose youngest son, Emmitt, has disabilities.
Last week, the family – husband Brett and sons Isaac and Judah – joined Always B Smiling for the Stelmaszeks’ first bike ride of the season.
“My whole life is being Emmitt’s personal assistant and organizing everything for him,” Stelmaszek said. “What’s really amazing is they organize everything. They called me to figure out what bikes we want. I just had to pick the date and show up.”
Danny Piccolo, her husband, Jason Yahnke, and their daughter, Alex Yahnke, enjoyed their first experience with Always B Smiling on June 4. Piccolo learned about the organization through friend Sloane Astorino, who serves as Always B Smiling’s secretary.
“We tried to take (Alex) on other bike rides,” said Piccolo, of Oakmont. “We tried to rig our own. There’s the pull-behind carts. We tried to put some equipment in the back of that. She kind of tips over, the helmet falls off. It’s just not as nice as this. This is a very nice resource to have.”
Soon, Always B Smiling hopes to offer additional resources to area families. Already the nonprofit donates Buddee Bags to children in local hospitals and health-care centers and hosts “B” Together events for families. This summer, Always B Smiling is sending 10 area kids to kidney camp, and the Huibregtses are working to acquire land for an Always B Smiling Activity center – a permanent, accessible and sensory-friendly space where families can gather year-round.
“Our big – knock on wood – goal is the activity center somewhere along the Montour Trail,” said Dean. “We’re cautiously optimistic that we have momentum to make that happen.”
Kristin and Dean envision a beautiful building for children and young adults with disabilities to learn life skills, cultivate horticulture competency and take music therapy classes. Instead of beginning at Tandem, adaptive bike rides could start at the activity center.
On July 24, Always B Smiling is hosting its second-annual Miles for Smiles 5K walk, run and roll. Some proceeds will go directly to the activity center, and other funds raised will benefit the adaptive bike ride program and other Always B Smiling projects.
Walkers, runners and riders who cross the finish line can celebrate with a sweet treat from Millie’s Ice Cream truck, and kids can play in the bounce house. A petting zoo and The Little Gym will also be at Miles for Smiles.
“The walk … it’s awesome. Last year was over 200 people and it’s going to be, I think, bigger,” Dean said. “With the activity center, we’ll need a lot of donations and support.”
Donations are accepted year-round, and the public is invited to support Always B Smiling at Miles for Smiles, which starts at TAR Outdoor Storage, 107 Valleybrook Road, Peters, at 9 a.m. July 24. Day-of registration begins at 8 a.m.
To register for Miles for Smiles, or to make an online donation, visit https://alwaysbsmiling.org/.