A first bike is special thing, according to Danny Register. It’s more than a means of transportation — it encourages self-reliance and responsibility.

“It teaches them life skills like safety, hard work and setting goals and achieving them,” he said.

Life was thus enriched for 125 needy Chesapeake children Saturday when 21 associates of Golden State Foods in Suffolk joined with 135 volunteers to build each of them a new bike.

Register is the Suffolk chair of the Golden State Foods Foundation. Associates contribute with voluntary payroll deductions, he said, supporting community enrichment projects in the company’s 26 locations.

Held in the Chick-fil-A parking lot on Portsmouth Boulevard, it was the foundation’s third build-a-bike event in Chesapeake. This year, Register said, Allfirst Construction funded 25 extra bikes.

“The children are selected through the Boys and Girls Club in Chesapeake,” Register said. “The directors selected between 30 and 40 children at several different area schools, based on their level of at-risk or financial need, through the school records.”

A lot of volunteers were marshaled by Chick-fil-A with a call on Facebook, according to Register.

Because it was Armed Forces Day, organizers also reached out to military installations, he added, and during the morning event, a moment was taken to recognize the Army and Navy volunteers.

“It was a big group of different people. It was really neat,” Register said.

Each child paired off with a volunteer as a mentor for the morning, and together they got their bike from the truck, removed it from the box and assembled it.

“There were a lot of wide eyes and smiles,” Register said.

The bikes were put together and passed through a technical check, when the kids selected a helmet and bike lock, and then Chesapeake Police taught them about safety.

Register described the scene that then unfolded: mentors running beside children trying to get the hang of their new wheels.

“It’s an opportunity to provide children that are in need the responsibility of a bike, and have an adult that cares about them hang out with them for a couple of hours,” Register said.

Assembling a bike is no walk in the park, according to Register. “You have to work at it to get them put together.”

All the work created some large appetites. They were satisfied with chicken biscuits from Chick-fil-A for breakfast, while Greencore of Fredericksburg provided sandwiches and snacks for lunch. Penske Corp. also contributed to the effort.

Many volunteers brought their families to help, Register said, adding, “You got the feeling it wasn’t just checking the box. It’s like they wanted as many people as possible to experience it, because it’s heart-warming.”