Do you remember your first bike? I think I remember mine. It
was a hand-me-down from my brother. It was powder blue and it had an alligator on
the chain guard. It was awesome. Until, the day my dad ran it over with his
car.
That Christmas, to replace my otherwise flattened bike, Santa
brought me a brand new bike. It had a giant banana seat and it was rainbow colored.
It even had rainbow streamers in the handle bars. In my opinion there is nothing better than getting a new bike.
Fast forward 30 years- Every year my husband and I sponsor
children through the Precious Child program and the Boulder County Bar
Association. https://apreciouschild.org/what-we-do/precious-gift/
The Precious Child program collects donated new toys, gift
cards and gifts for children (babies through teenagers) in the most need in the
community. They make incredible efforts
to assure that children do not wake up Christmas morning without a present. This
year, one of the children we sponsored was an 8 year old boy. His Christmas
list to Santa included new clothes, dinosaur toys and a BIKE. My husband and I were thrilled to help Santa
deliver a new bike to this little boy.
During our search for a new kid’s bike, we met a retired
Auto Worker who now lives in Lafayette, Colorado. This incredible man spends
his retirement fixing-up and donating gently used bikes to the community. He
works out of his house and has bikes available for sale or donation- depending
on your need. You can drive past his
house in Lafayette and see his display of available bikes. It’s amazing. He
also donates bikes to Community Cycles, and is happy to donate bikes to charities
in need. Check out Community Cycles- https://communitycycles.org/ Their focus is not just children’s bikes, but adult bikes as well. Many individuals are dependent upon their bike as their primary mode of transportation.
We are lucky to live in Colorado where numerous
organizations exist that donate bikes to both children and adults. Check out
some of the bike donation programs in Colorado. A Bike can change a life and
make things that were previously inaccessible, accessible. If you have any bikes
collecting dust in your garage, consider donating them and
giving the bike and its eventual recipient a new life.
Happy Holidays!
