Moving from Mesquite to Alba-Golden didn’t slow 7th grade Ryleigh Adams’ desire to help others at Christmas time.

She resumed the bicycle drives she held for five years in Mesquite and was able to raise more than $1,000 to purchase bicycles for 15 children as part of the community Alba-Golden Angel Tree drive.

Ryleigh began asking for toys as a kindergartner in Mesquite to assist the Mesquite police with their Santa Cop program.

This year she set up a booth at the Alba-Golden Winter Extravaganza to sell a variety of holiday items to help raise funds for the Angel Tree bicycles, with a goal to purchase nine. Sales and donations allowed her to trek to Walmart and come home with 15 bikes.

This year there were 128 angels on the tree from 55 families, and all the wishes were granted through community support.

Ryleigh’s generosity began in kindergarten when she requested no presents for her birthday, which falls three days before Christmas, but instead asked for her presents to be donated to under privileged children.

After two years she realized that bicycles were the most requested gifts but also the least donated, and through her last year in Mesquite in 2021, her efforts had resulted in gifts of 50 bicycles, including 20 plus a scooter that year.