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Imagine this moment: watching a child with special needs, who has a chance to ride a bike with their family and friends by their side. The wheels gently start turning, pick up a little speed, and the child realizes they can ride a bike - just like any other kid!

LET'S MAKE MORE MOMENTS LIKE THIS. TOGETHER!

My name is Ilan Shterenberg, and I’m a Young Ambassador for the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation, Class of ‘22.

The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation (HLF) was founded in 2014 by New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and his wife Therese to make a difference in the lives of children and their families throughout the world, in the areas of health and education. The Young Ambassadors program (HLFYA) was developed because the HLF believes in the incredible power of young people to make a difference in the world, and the HLF wanted to give youth a platform to do just that!

I love hockey and I’m a goalie myself. As a HLF Young Ambassador, I conceived of and executed an Independent Service Project (ISP) in collaboration with the Washington Capitals, the HLF and Freedom Concepts to provide a very deserving child with the first-ever Washington Capitals-themed adaptive “Dream Bike.” The “Dream Bike” program helps families cover the cost of the bikes since adaptive equipment is very expensive and isn’t typically covered by health insurance. My initial ISP for the Capitals-themed adaptive bike has raised nearly $8,000 from 90 donations made by 87 individual donors and organizations, with amounts ranging from $5 to $1,000. No amount is too small, and helped me to get closer to my goal of providing Lamar with an adaptive bike.

Seeing the impact that the adaptive “Dream Bike” had on its recipient and his family, families of other children with special needs, as well as greater hockey community, inspired me to continue helping more kids receive adaptive bikes. The “Dream Bike” projects combine two things I am really passionate about - helping people and hockey.

Now, as HLFYA Alumnus, I am collaborating with the NY Rangers (NYR), the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS), as well as the Henrik Lundqvist Foundation and Freedom Concepts to provide the first-ever NY Rangers-themed adaptive “Dream Bike” handcycle to a very deserving young Rangers fan, a 10-year-old Emma! Click HERE to read her story.

Adaptive bikes or handcycles are adaptive physical therapy equipment. They are customized to children’s special needs and strengths, and are recommended by medical professionals. They support the riders and provide necessary physical therapy. More importantly, they help to improve lives of children with limited physical abilities, by helping to increase self-esteem, academics and cognitive skills. They simply give children with special needs the joy of riding a bike and be included in the activities with their peers!

Click below to watch short TV news segments from Lamar’s adaptive bike presentation and the impact the bike had on his family:
WUSA9 (CBS)
NBC4 Washington

Click HERE to read the NHL.com article about my original ISP of the Capitals-themed adaptive bike for 8-year-old Lamar.

Click HERE to watch a video from 2019 Breakthrough Award Presentation to the scientists who developed vaccine that benefitted Emma and many other children with the condition like hers. Emma was one of the children who participated in the study starting the age of 2, and the video briefly tells her story.