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The knock came at the door. Fourteen-year-old Rufus walked in with a smile on his face and a damaged bicycle wheel in hand. He left his own bike near the front door and entered the large warehouse peppered with bikes and equipment. The workstations that greeted him were scattered with tools and bike parts – evidence of the work of 25 volunteers from the previous day.
Rufus had come to repair the wheel for someone else’s bike.
Rufus was no stranger to Recycle Bikes for Kids. He had been a constant visitor to the bike shop for the last five years. He made his first visit when he was about 9 years old to pick out a bike for himself. For a long time, he had come nearly every day after school as a volunteer to help repair bikes for others. These days, he is “busy with stuff” as many middle school kids are, but he still tries to come regularly.
This community bike shop started under the direction of Ron King, who freed up some space in his warehouse with a mission to give away 100 bikes away the first year. Before he knew it, he had collected 400 bikes and fixed 300 of them to give away.
Joe Maneiro, who has a background in film editing and production, became involved in the program early on as a volunteer. Eventually, he moved into the role of program director as the growing program began to demand more time than King could give.
The program has a unique setup in that any child (16 and under) may receive one bike for free, while any adult may earn a bike through “sweat equity.” Basically, after volunteering for three hours at the bike shop, an adult may earn a basic bike by repairing or rebuilding one under supervision.
Kids have an actual “shopping room” where they can walk through and choose a bike.
Recycle Bikes for Kids operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Although the program has been around for eight years, it was officially set up as a nonprofit about a year ago. In those eight years, the program has distributed around 12,000 bikes.
Maneiro explained that the program has a strong volunteer base, including many retirees.
“They either believe in the cause or are passionate about bikes. They love helping out and want to see kids on bikes.”
Maneiro explained that the organization had recently helped a 96-year-old man get a new bike after his own bike (which he actively still used to get around town) had been accidentally run over. The person who had run over the bike wanted to replace the bike.
Many of the people who receive a bike are low-income or homeless. Many of them work odd-hour jobs when public transit does not run. Bikes empower those who are in this situation, said Maneiro.
“I love getting people on bikes, but I really love community growth. We often spend our time very segregated in society. It’s not that often that you come across a cause that knows no age, sex, or demographic. You have to break down barriers and this is a great place to do that,” said Maneiro. “We see a very eclectic array of people here.”
In the case of Rufus, Maneiro believes the safe community the bike shop offers him has helped with his journey into a young teenager.
“A lot of people keep coming back as volunteers for the community part of it. Through this setup, by proxy, you really get involved in people’s lives. You become friends with these people. That’s why we call it a community bike shop. It’s more of a community than a traditional bike shop.”
The first thing Maneiro and the volunteers do after a bike is donated is to determine if the bike can be repaired. If the bike is not fixable, it is stripped down for parts to be used on other bikes. Therefore, all donated bikes have a purpose within the program.
By Christmas, Recycle Bikes for Kids will give 800 bikes to children in the area. In early November, Maneiro said they only had about 300 in stock, and he was hopeful more bikes would be donated to the shop in time for Christmas.
The distributions will happen through the 30 or so partnerships that Recycle Bikes for Kids has with various churches and organizations. The churches and organizations handle the direct donations of the bikes to help build community spirit and relationships.
“We don’t always see every kid who gets a bike. That is how we choose to operate – to empower other organizations that already do great work,” said Maneiro.
Currently, Maneiro and King are searching for a new building as they will soon have to vacate the current building. Maneiro explained there is no budget for purchasing a new space. They are in an active search for someone who would like to partner and offer a space for this nonprofit organization.
Recycle Bikes for Kids is open Monday through Saturday with volunteer work hours on Tuesdays (1 p.m. to 7 p.m.) and Saturdays (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.). For more information, visit the website Recycle Bikes for Kids or the Facebook page at Facebook Recycle Bikes for Kids.
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