Over 400 kids in Manitoba who aren't able to afford a bike will get one for Christmas this year. 

Approximately 100 volunteers spent 24 hours building bikes at Valour Community Club over the weekend, as part of The WRENCH's annual Cycle of Giving campaign. 

The campaign is a 24 hour bike building marathon with the goal of re-building old bikes and giving them to kids in need during the holiday season. 

The WRENCH accepts donations of old bikes and also digs bikes and bike parts out of Winnipeg's landfills to rebuild them. 

"We take the stuff that some people consider trash and we turn it into children's dreams in 24 hours," Managing Director of The WRENCH Patrick Krawec said. "These bicycles then go out to the kids who need them most through our 22 youth services partner organizations in Winnipeg and across Manitoba." 

Every year a portion of the bikes are set aside for fly-in communities in Northern Manitoba. This year, bikes will be sent to Berens River, Little Grand Rapids and Bloodvein.

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Krawec says for many people, growing up riding a bike is so common they don't realize how many kids go through their childhood without that opportunity. 

"Learning to ride a bike makes you feel like you're growing up," Krawec said. "You don't have to run behind your older brother or sister or the rest of the gang to the park, now you can ride and experience that sense of exploring the world under your own power." 

"It's also physical activity and it gives you a sense of belonging," he continued. "To think that a kid doesn't have the opportunity to experience all the joy that brings and all the lessons learned through riding a bike makes you want to help. We should never underestimate the importance of a bike to a child" 

Krawec says this is the seventh year The WRENCH has put on the Cycle of Giving and though he didn't have definitive numbers at this time this article was published on Sunday, Dec. 3, he expects they beat their previous record of 405 bikes built in 24 hours. 

The WRENCH only does Cycle of Giving in the first weekend of December, but runs bike-related programming for kids in need throughout the year. 

For more information, visit thewrench.ca