 | Music school custodian Dan Perrotto's mother encouraged him to "give something away every day." In recent years, he has given away nearly 1,600 bikes. |
Nearly every weekday up to the Christmas holiday, Yale School of Music custodian
Dan Perrotto will head out after finishing his day’s work to shop for
bicycles. — By Susan Gonzalez
T H I S
Custodian brings brand-new
bikes to needy youths
He’s hoping to buy dozens of bicycles, because he’d like to spread
around as much holiday happiness as he can manage.
In a very real way, at this time of year, Perrotto serves as a sort of Santa
Claus to dozens of children in New Haven and its surrounding towns. While the
kids may never even meet him, he has left what for many will be a gift they’ll
remember for years to come — their first shiny new bicycle.
Perrotto is the founder of Bikes for Babes, a non-profit organization he leads — with
a bit of help from family members, friends and some generous donors — that
provides bikes to needy children. In recognition of his efforts, he was named
in November as one of two winners of this year’s Morris Wessel Fund “Unsung
Heroes” award. The honor, named for a now 90-year-old Yale alumnus (School
of Medicine, Class of 1942) who was a longtime local pediatrician and Yale clinical
professor, is given to individuals who humbly give of their time to help children
and families.
“I give bikes to kids who come from poor families, kids in orphanages,
kids who are hurting,” says Perrotto. He donates bikes all year long, but
is especially busy during the holiday season, a time when he’d like to
be able to put smiles on the faces of as many children as possible.
Perrotto began his quest to give bikes to children over a decade ago. After presenting
a used bike to a young boy whose father had died, the Yale staff member began
thinking about other kids who might enjoy having one.
“I started out just buying one or two bikes and giving them to kids in
the neighborhood,” says Perrotto. “But then I decided that I could
do more.” He began dropping off new bikes as part of the U.S. Marines’ annual
holiday “Toys for Tots” campaign, as well as to New Haven’s
St. Francis Home for Children Inc., Farnam Neighborhood House, ACES Temple School in North Haven, and various other public and private schools and places that
serve children.
Perrotto’s wife, Angelina, was at first skeptical about the project, fearing
that it would become too expensive to continue. But Perrotto persisted, remembering
the counsel he received repeatedly from his own parents while he was growing
up: His mother would urge, “Give something away every day,” and his
father would remind him, “Never forget where you came from.”
“I grew up in Fair Haven,” says Perrotto. “My family was not
well off, but we always got by. At first, when my mother told me to give away
something every day, I thought, ‘That’s just not possible.’ But
I have come to see that it is possible.”
Perrotto now gives away about 130 bicycles a year — a total of nearly 1,600
since Bikes for Babes was started. The Yale staff member relies on donations
from family members, local organizations, companies and shops, and area fire
stations to keep the project running — sometimes soliciting door to door.
“Every year, I tell my sisters and brothers they either have to donate
a bike or give me $100 — or else I won’t talk to them,” Perrotto
quips. He says he is amazed by the support he has been shown; on occasion, he
has arrived at his North Haven home to find that an individual donor or a local
organization has dropped off some bikes. Once, he came home after a Thanksgiving
celebration to discover that the Connecticut Street Rod Association of Wallingford
(a car club) had left off more than 20 brand new bikes.
Usually, however, Perrotto buys the bikes himself from local department stores.
Every so often, he will get donations from area bike shops of used bikes in excellent
condition. During his busiest times, such as Christmas, he fills his own garage
and then stores the bikes at the homes of his two daughters, other family members
and neighbors.
“I prefer to give away brand new bikes, and I wish that I could donate
the higher-end bikes from bike shops,” Perrotto comments. “But that’s
just not affordable if I am to give away bikes to as many kids as I’d like.”
An avid cyclist himself, the 62-year-old Perrotto loves to ride his 1959 Schwinn
reproduction bike around his neighborhood. But growing up, he didn’t have
a new bike of his own until he was 13 years old.
“I wish I had had a new bike when I was a really young kid,” says
Perrotto. “I just love riding. When you’re on a bike, you’re
free.”
He has attached a slogan — “Pedal Your Dreams” — to his
Bikes for Babes effort, and it’s one he likes to tell the kids he has met
who have been the beneficiaries of his generosity.
“To me, that slogan can mean anything,” says Perrotto. “It
means a kid on a bike forgetting about his troubled past, or a kid riding his
bike to a grocery store to buy bread for his mom, or a kid riding to a schoolyard
to play basketball.”
While the local organizations and schools often select the children who will
receive new bikes, Perrotto sometimes donates them to children he has heard about — either
in the news or through friends — who have been through a difficult experience.
These include a young girl in East Haven who suffered major skin burns in a fire
and some children who were relocated in Connecticut after their homes were destroyed
during Hurricane Katrina.
While donating bikes for children is one of his most time-consuming activities,
Perrotto also takes part in other volunteer endeavors. Along with his wife, he
is a Eucharistic minister at his church, and the couple also devotes time to
an area soup kitchen. He is a former chair of his town’s Inland Wetlands
Commission and has served as a coach to a children’s baseball team. He
is especially proud of having his name featured on a Vietnam War veterans monument
in North Haven.
Perrotto has received hundreds of letters from children who received the bikes
he donates, as well as from school principals, the directors of children’s
organizations and others. He has been nominated for numerous other honors for
his generosity, including the 2007 American Red Cross Heroes of New Haven County
Award.
“If I could, I’d give a bike to any young kid who wants one,” says
Perrotto, who has also donated bikes to the children of fellow Yale employees. “There
are people all around us hurting, and I like to be able to help.
“I look at my own life, and I see how much I have been blessed,” he
continues. “I feel good.”
Perrotto has been a maintenance worker at the School of Music for 15 years. As
a former band drummer in his earlier years, he is grateful to be working in an
environment where he can hear music. He admits, however, that he looks forward
to his retirement a bit down the road, although relaxation is not what he has
in mind for when that time comes.
“I’ll be giving bikes to kids,” Perrotto says. “That
is, unless I go broke in the meantime.”
The Morris Wessel “Unsung Heroes” award that he received carries
a $2,000 cash prize, which Perrotto intends to spend during his after-work time
on bike shopping sprees. He beams as he recalls the responses he’s received
from some of the children who have gotten bikes, including one young boy who
looked at Perrotto incredulously when he was told that the Yale custodian bought
him the bike.
“Who are you?” asked the boy, first guessing that Perrotto was a
long-lost relative.
His second guess was bit more fitting. “I know who you are,” declared
the youngster. “You’re Santa Claus!”
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
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Custodian brings brand-new bikes to needy youths
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Rededication ceremony held for Silliman College
Reconstruction of Bass Library celebrated
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS
Yale receives $12.4 million grant to oversee study . . .
Research to examine causes of heart attacks in young women
Project will assess impact of vaccine against virus . . .
Yale scientists discover biomarker linked to . . .
Work in Ob/Gyn is recognized with grants, honors
Two Divinity School professors earn special honors
Graduate students boost social skills in networking workshop
Research reveals that children tend to ‘over-imitate’ actions of adults
Yale bioengineers have developed a more effective method . . .
Postdoctoral fellow wins fellowships for cancer cell research
Exhibit of original menorahs celebrates the Festival of Light
Alumna intern discovers firsthand the positive impact of United Way
A ‘thank you’ from United Way
Social anthropologist will examine ‘Why Creationism Isn’t Science’
IN MEMORIAM
Dr. Barry Goldberg, devoted career to the safety of athletes
Dr. James Kenney, was the ‘doctor’s doctor’ to many
Dr. Nicholas Spinelli, was active in alumni affairs
Longtime professor Stanton Wheeler dies on Dec. 7
Memorial service for Eugene Waith
Stately affairs
Campus Notes
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