This Malvern teen is a TIME Magazine 2024 Kid of the Year honoree

MALVERN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Malvern’s own Dom Pecora is a TIME Magazine 2024 Kid of the Year honoree.

Pecora has always had a passion for bikes. When he was around 10 years old, he was constantly breaking them. After talking with friends and doing some research, he asked his mom if he could get a more expensive one that wouldn’t break as easily.

His mom said no to the $3,000 bike, so to earn money, he started doing bike repairs, using the pay-what-you-can principle.

His side gig took off and within that same year, he was able to buy his dream bike.

By the time the holidays rolled around, he had made so much money he decided to gift bikes to kids who could not afford one.

“We bought six bikes the first year. Then I continued to do it, became a nonprofit and moved into a one-car garage in Paoli, which then I outgrew pretty fast. That year we did nine bikes,” Pecora said.

Last Christmas was his fourth year doing this. He gave away 121 bikes at the new shop in Malvern, where he repairs and sells new and refurbished bikes.

The now 15-year-old says it feels good to be able to provide bikes for kids who can’t afford them.

He’s helped a kid who arrived from Ukraine, others who are unhoused, and even kids with parents facing terminal illnesses.

He recalled a touching story from last Christmas when a child’s mother was dying of stage four cancer, and the father didn't have extra money to buy a bike.

“We bought a bike for their kids, and we made sure it was their dream bike. So they wanted a certain color, size, we went all out. We delivered it around November because the mother wasn't sure if she would make it to Christmas,” Pecora said.

He says one small action to brighten someone’s day can snowball into helping an entire community.

To select the 2024 Kid of the Year, TIME solicited nominations for young leaders who are making admirable contributions in a range of fields. TIME’s Kid of the Year is 15-year-old scientist Heman Bekele from Fairfax, Virginia .