Mascots rally to surprise local Wal-Mart greeter, painter with new bike after accident

(Courtesy of Change 4 Love)


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AMERICAN FORK — A group of family, friends, co-workers and even local mascots rallied to surprise a Wal-Mart greeter, who went viral because of his act of kindness earlier this year, with a new bicycle after he destroyed his bike in a crash last week.

It all started Saturday when Glenn Stucki raced home on his bicycle to attend a masquerade ball hosted by the Mascot Miracles Foundation. A car pulled in front of him and he wrecked his bike.

“I turned really sharp and I thought I was going to hit a car so I hit my brakes and I flew over my handlebars and demolished my bike,” Stucki said.

With the bike ruined, Stucki ran home to make it time for the event but also wondering how he’d commute to work that upcoming Monday.

“My bike is my transportation; it’s how I get around,” Stucki said. “I go everywhere with my bike. If I don’t have my bike, I walk and that takes a really long time.”


It’s been a whirlwind year for Stucki.

KSL featured Stucki in March after his act of kindness for a 5-year-old boy at the American Fork Wal-Mart where he worked. Stucki learned that the boy was scared of an upcoming dentist appointment and talked to him to calm the boy's nerves down.

Courtesy of the Shepard family
Courtesy of the Shepard family

He also learned that the boy was a fan of Captain America, so Stucki, an avid superhero fan and painter as well, surprised the boy with a painting of the superhero a few weeks later when the boy and his mother visited the Wal-Mart again.

In 1993, Stucki suffered a major brain injury in a boating accident when he was 12 years old, but the injury never stole his sense of caring nor a desire to paint. His story went viral and he was flooded with thousands of requests from children across the country wanting similar superhero paintings.

He started “Change 4 Love” and launched a Kickstarter campaign, aiming for $10,000, so those children could have the paintings for free, as he has always promised with each painting. The campaign reached its goal with the help of more than 100 backers.

That’s also where he got in touch with the Mascot Miracles Foundation, a non-profit organization of local professional, corporate and collegiate mascots that visit children with serious illnesses to uplift their spirits.

Kristopher Messersmith, a member of the Mascot Miracles Foundation, said the foundation donated to Stucki’s campaign and received a painting of a mascot. Stucki then donated paintings for the foundation's masquerade, which were auctioned off at the fundraising event.

While Stucki focused on attending Saturday’s event, it was obvious something was wrong.

“We had tuxedos and I noticed he was bleeding through his tuxedo, and I was like 'what happened?'” said Bart Hawkins, Stucki’s Change 4 Love business partner. “It was really obvious — he had (bandages) on and everything.”

The mascots noticed it too. Messersmith said he had seen Stucki the day before and hadn’t seen the same cuts and bandages he now had. That’s when they were made aware of what had happened.

Stucki told Messersmith that it meant he’d have to buy a new bike or just walk to work each day, so the mascots came together with an idea.


On Sunday, Hawkins and Stucki’s parents informed him there was a surprise for him at his work, which caught Stucki off-guard.

“I didn’t know why we were going to Wal-Mart because we don’t shop on Sunday,” he said.

What Stucki didn’t know is that the mascots got in contact with his employer after the masquerade ball to purchase him a new bicycle so he didn’t have to walk to work. Stucki entered the Wal-Mart only to be surrounded by co-workers, managers, friends and family before the group of mascots surprised him with the brand new bike.

Courtesy of Change 4 Love
Courtesy of Change 4 Love

Five mascots, including Utah Grizzlies mascot Grizzbee and Utah Falconz mascot Felix, rode up to Stucki with different, mostly flippant options until finally, Grizzbee rolled in with the brand new bike the group had purchased for Stucki — though Stucki said he would be happy with any of the smaller bike options.

The moment was filled with laughs, smiles and joy.

“It meant the world to me. Glenn’s like a brother to me and it put joy on all of our faces," Messersmith said. “We were just floored with the outcome and how excited he was to go from an older bike, crashing it and breaking it, to a new bike. He was just so thankful.”

Hawkins, who remained in the background during the presentation of the new bike, said it was a rewarding experience just watching it all unfold.

“Everything I do with Glenn is so fulfilling because his whole purpose in life and what he does every day is just to give,” Hawkins said. “He gives free paintings, he gives free hugs. He gives himself every day. What was awesome was just seeing how that love just came back tenfold.”

Stucki, meanwhile, said he was filled with gratitude for what the mascots, which he refers to as "the nicest mascots in the world," had done for him.

“They just gave me like wings again,” he said, with the appreciation that he wouldn’t have to walk to work, “and I’m so grateful for that.”

It was a moment Messersmith said he won't forget, especially giving back to someone who has made a name for himself, one hello and one painting at a time.

“Glenn has such a big heart. It’s wonderful," Messersmith said. "It’s definitely what the community — what we need more going around. He wants to change the world with love.”

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