Trike riders tug heart strings at HEAL gala

Posted on March 3, 2020 By Editor Social Events

Pamela Landwirth with Sandy and John Flaschmer and Chriss Spires

In 10 minutes, HEAL pulled in $122,000 as a result of its “Bid from the Heart” live auction segment during the nonprofit’s annual Valley of Dreams gala Feb. 20 at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. Triggering the emotional impact were six to eight nonverbal autistic children, who rode among the crowd on trikes that were the focus of HEAL’s fundraising effort this year. So far HEAL has provided 100 tricycles to public schools in Duval County and has plans to present two trikes to each school in Northeast Florida. “It was so wonderful for people to see how these kids can ride a bike when they normally wouldn’t be able to balance on two wheels,” said HEAL Founder Leslie Weed.

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