LONGMONT, Colo. (KMGH) — Forty-three first graders in Longmont, Colorado got a big surprise.

They were given a free bicycle courtesy of Can'd Aid, The Braly Family Foundation and dozens of Longmont residents who spent Thursday evening putting them all together.

The program, Treads + Trails, aims to get kids of all backgrounds outside through biking.

"My first feeling of freedom as a kid that I can remember is getting on my bike and riding away from my family without training wheels," said Mike Murfitt, an ambassador for Can’d Aid. "Being able to give a kid that experience is pretty unique."

Dozens of volunteers and ambassadors gathered at CYCLHOPS Bike CANtina to assemble the bikes the night before the big surprise.

"Everybody gets to have a beer, sign in and just put together a bike for a kid," said Murfitt. "It's pretty cool to get a kid excited about something like this."

Part of Treads + Trails' initiative is to get kids involved in outdoor activities at a time when screen usage among kids is at an all-time high.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, the average eight to 10-year-old spends an average of 7.5 hours in front of a screen every single day. Organizers hope that by giving the kids bikes, it will inspire them to get outside.

"COVID has forced so many students to go on screens, and if you're in your home, hopefully, this provides an outlet for energy," said Toni Pickett, a representative for the Braly Family Foundation, which is underwriting the bike donation. "I think it's great to be to give them an opportunity to learn something that they can do for life"

This story was originally reported by Sloan Dickey on thedenverchannel.com.

More than 555,000 people in this country have died from COVID-19, and while most of the deaths have been older Americans, tens of thousands of middle-aged people have died leaving behind young children.

Researchers estimate between 37,000 and 43,000 kids under the age of 18 have lost a parent because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study in the American Medical Association’s JAMA Pediatrics journal.

“Children who lose a parent are at elevated risk of traumatic grief, depression, poor educational outcomes, and unintentional death or suicide, and these consequences can persist into adulthood,” researchers note.

They added that sudden parental death, as is the case with many deaths during the pandemic, can leave families ill-prepared to navigate the immediate impacts of that loss.

These deaths are happening while the pandemic has limited access to in-person mental health care or friends and family support groups.

The statistical model the researchers used suggests a nearly 20% increase in parental bereavement during the pandemic as compared to other times.

That translates to about 37,000 children age 17 or younger who had lost at least one parent due to COVID-19 as of the end of February 2021.

Those numbers disproportionately affect Black children. Researchers say about 14% of children in this country are Black, but 20% of children losing a parent to COVID-19 are Black, according to demographic modeling.

The number of children who lost a parent increases to 43,000 when “excess deaths” are included. The term refers to including all deaths during the time period of the pandemic, who may or may not have had a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

For comparison, researchers note the attacks on September 11, 2001, left 3,000 children without a parent.