Yarra Primary School
Surprise! Medibank builds Bikes4Kids from Yarra Primary School.
Just recently, Medibank offices in Melbourne’s CBD were a mix of call centre, bike construction workshop and a primary school playground. Medibank were building bikes as part of a team development project and Variety – the Children’s Charity worked with them to ensure some very lucky students from Yarra Primary School were the surprise recipients of their incredible handiwork.
Each bike was carefully flat packed into individual boxes and delivered to the Collins Street call centre. All the employees were divided into their work groups tasked with assembling a bike, safe for a child to ride. Little did they know, the bikes were in fact for 17 young children on route from Yarra Primary School, all equally as oblivious to what they were about to receive.
The group to have assembled their bike correctly with the fastest time would win the title of first place; however there was a five minute penalty for anything incorrect on the bike. Each team were given tools to assist with their project and only one team member could work on the bike at any one time.
Meanwhile, a class of disadvantaged students from Yarra Primary School were transported to the Collins Street location for what appeared as a standard city excursion. Patiently waiting in a separate room, the time finally arrived and two students at a time were presented with a bike of their very own from Medibank staff, who had assembled the bike a few hours earlier! The surprised look on the faces of the children quickly turned into expressions of excitement, with each of the 17 children returing to their school with a brand new bike!
“I would like to thank you, Variety and Medibank for the beautiful bicycles. My students were thrilled as were their parents. Everyone’s kindness and generosity is very much appreciated by all of us here at Yarra Primary School. Thank you once again!” (Tracy Hammill, Principal, Yarra Primary School).