It was because of the kindness of some strangers and a letter from his mom that Cooper Roberts was surprised with the one thing every kid needs, a bike! But not just any bike, it is a bike that he will use his arms to propel him, a handcycle.

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Back in September we received a few messages on Facebook informing us of Cooper's story and a letter his mom wrote to ABC 7 Chicago as an update on her son who was paralyzed from the waist down in the 4th of July Highland Park Shooting.

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"Cooper has to deal on a daily basis with the sadness and grief of recognizing all the things he's lost - all that he used to be able to do at his house, in his community, that he cannot do anymore ... a bike in the garage that sits idle, that we used to have to fight him to stop riding each day... There is no word that we know of that adequately describes the level of pain you feel or that Cooper feels when he sees his bike he can no longer ride or his old soccer jersey... heartbreaking, agonizing, despair - there is just not a painful enough description."

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Once we read her letter and his story we knew we needed to help. The announcement was made at Hops for Hope 5K & BrewFest 2022 that Cooper would be getting an adaptive bike!

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View WGN News Special on Cooper Roberts and Project Mobility