The young engineers group at Wabtec joined top company officials Monday afternoon to present big checks to three local children's charities.

The big donations will support the work of Make-a-Wish, the Boys and Girls Club of Erie and Shriner's Hospitals for Children.

The money was raised through Wabtec's annual Bids for Kids charity event, which is all planned and organized by young engineers at the plant.

They also made a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsburgh this year to show the company's commitment to kids and to connecting their young employees with needs across the region.

"We see their training and development is not just the professional training and development for work they do But also about what we do and need to and provide for the communities we operate and work in," said Greg Sbrocco, senior vice president of Global operations for Wabtec

"We may go our entire lives and not have to deal with any of the stuff that these children are dealing with," said Abigail Williams, 2022 event chair. "It's just very humbling and rewarding to see how much we can make a difference in their lives."

Bids for Kids was held in-person but added online bidding this year because of the pandemic. 

Wabtec thanked the community for their generosity in bidding.

Planning is already underway for next year.