The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, with the help of Rangers season-ticket holders, sponsors and Rangers staff, built 14 bicycles to benefit military families on Friday in Arizona.

The Rangers Foundation regularly leads a charitable initiative to benefit the community of Surprise, Ariz., the Rangers’ springtime home, as part of a preseason trip that brings DFW-based fans to Cactus League Spring Training.

Ahead of the 2023 season, the Rangers Foundation partnered with The Leaders Institute on their Build-a-Bike program to benefit Phoenix nonprofit organization Military Assistance Mission, which provides financial assistance and morale-boosting experiences to thousands of military families across the state.

“I reached out to my colleague with the Arizona Diamondbacks and said we wanted to support a military organization who they’ve worked with in the past, and she was able to point me to this group,” said Ray Casas, Texas Rangers Director of Community Impact. “The Military Assistance Mission is kind of a mom-and-pop military organization. They don't have the depth or the reach that the USO does, but this organization is in the backyard of Phoenix, and every year they support 2,500 military families, so their reach is very impactful because it's specific to the Phoenix area and military living in that community.”

The Rangers Foundation and Military Assistance Mission invited two families to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge under the guise they’d be enjoying a meal to thank them for their service.

What they didn’t know was the Rangers Foundation and dozens of volunteers gathered in the hotel ballroom ahead of their arrival and assembled 14 children’s bicycles piece by piece, from pedals to handlebars.

The families were brought into the room, and to the delight of elementary school students Sabrina and Nayeli, they each picked out brand-new bikes, strapped on their helmets and took them for a spin.

“The kids didn't know that they were getting a bike, so they were pretty surprised,” said Casas. “There were a lot of tears in the room when we brought the families in, because even our volunteers didn't know that the bikes were going to be given out to kids that evening.

“It was a great opportunity to give back, because for as long as the Rangers have been in Surprise and the Phoenix area, it's important to repay their kindness and make sure that we leave their community a little bit better than when we got there.”

The Military Assistance Mission will distribute the 12 remaining bikes assembled Friday to military families throughout the year.

These Rangers fans who joined together to make a positive impact are among the many that follow the Foundation’s lead to improve the North Texas Community and far beyond. To find out how you can get involved, visit texasrangers.com/foundation.