You seen them pedaling up one street, down another, offering $1.00 ice cream treats without the annoying tinkly music or nasty truck fumes. The ice creamcycle dudes on ice cream bikes are the brainchild of James Karagiannis. Although he now has a whole team delivering cold treats on the streets, James still rides right along side his guys.
His daily interactions with kids across the city led to an additional brainstorm. Here is his Facebook post which describes it in his own words:
"One of the hardest parts about being an ice cream dude is seeing the disappointment on a kid's face when all of their friends buy ice cream but they're left out because they don't have a dollar. While we do have a number of freebies we're allowed to give out each day (I usually make the kids answer a math problem, or pick up litter or something) we simply can't afford to give to every single person. Trust me, we get asked a lot!
I don't like the idea of just giving something away to a kid without at least trying to teach a lesson. We're in these neighborhoods everyday and are a part of these kids lives, therefore we have the responsibility to be positive role models. So we came up with the idea that, if they want a free ice cream, they're going to have to write a thank you note.
I often have people give me a few bucks and say give ice cream to the next few kids. However they never get to see the joy on kids' faces when I hand them out. Now there's an opportunity to put a smile on someone's face and receive one in return.
If you buy a kid ice cream we're going to have them write a thank you which we'll mail to you. Maybe it arrives in your mailbox long after you've forgotten about it, maybe it arrives on a day you could use an extra smile.
If you'd like to pay it forward you can do so at https://squareup.com/
I had to set a $5 minimum online because the credit card fee is too high, but if you'd like to donate less we'll gladly accept in person. Between the postcard printing costs, postage, labor, etc this is not something I'm doing to make money on. I just think it's something that makes all of us feel good. Thanks for helping us see to it that no kid goes without ice cream."
It's not at all surprising that James' excellent idea caught the attention of the media. WBFO did a nice feature on him that was picked up by other public radio stations. Area TV stations got in on the fun, too. Watch the WIVB interview and the WKBW version of this terrific story.
Anyone can give stuff away. The genius is having the kids say thank you, not just verbally, but actually writing a Thank You note which is actually mailed to donors. This is simply brilliant. Support it. James the ice creamcycle dude is a gem.
