Taking the new rig for a spin.
(Photo: Greg Lee)

The Community Cycling Center's annual Holiday Bike Drive took place on Sunday. The event is a cherished tradition here in Portland as it brings together the community in a way that no other event does. Beyond simply giving out free bikes, the CCC carefully chooses recipients based on those in need. All the families that take part are referred to the event by a partnering social service program and the kids are given a full complement of accessories and skills education to go along with their bike.

According to CCC Communications Manager Melinda Musser, 412 children received bikes on Saturday and — underscoring the CCC's success in broadening the reach of bicycling in our community — there were 18 languages represented. (more...)

Waiting for new owners.
(Photos: Britt Appleton/CCC)

The Community Cycling Center held their 16th annual Holiday Bike Drive yesterday. The event connected over 400 kids from low-income families with a newly refurbished bike, a helmet, basic safety education and most importantly, the freedom and sheer joy that comes with having your own two wheels.

We weren't at the event this year, but the CCC shared a few photos of the happy kids (taken by Britt Appleton): (more...)

366 lucky kids will get to
choose their favorite this weekend.
(Photo © J. Maus)

With a press release that exclaims, "The Portland "Snowpocalypse" can't keep us from getting kids on bikes!", the Community Cycling Center (CCC) has announced plans to hold a sequel to their annual Holiday Bike Drive this weekend.

The event will hope to bring biking's goodness to more than 350 kids who couldn't attend the original Bike Drive on December 14th, which was cut short by a snow storm. The CCC promises it will be "the same great event, just a little over a month later." (more...)

The Community Cycling Center's annual Holiday Bike Drive was all set for another successful day of making bike dreams come true for over 500 low-income Portland-area kids...but that was before the big storm hit.

As the weather worsened on the day of the event (last Sunday), staffers decided to cut it short, leaving about 350 kids without new bikes.

Now, the CCC is gearing up for a Holiday Bike Drive sequel for January. An announcement on their website states, "We will spend the next few weeks organizing volunteers and staff, coordinating with social service agencies and families, and fundraising like crazy to pull the whole thing off."

The sequel event is expected to cost about $3,000 in staff time and supplies to pull off.

To learn more and to send a donation, visit the support page at CommunityCyclingCenter.org.

There were still plenty of smiles
at the Holiday Bike Drive yesterday.
(Photo by Chad Berkley)

As we reported yesterday, the Community Cycling Center's Holiday Bike Drive suffered a bit due to extreme weather conditions that kept many families away.

The event is their largest of the year and volunteers had readied well over 500 bikes to give to low-income kids. CCC communications director Alison Hill-Graves sent us an email with the following recap:

"We had a smaller, yet still incredible event despite that pesky storm. We had kids coming in until 3:30 and we still had staff and volunteers around to help. We ended up loading up about 400 bikes and getting them back up to North Portland where we keep them. We plan some kind of alternative event in January."

(more...)

[UPDATE, 10:50am: Event organizers say due to harsh weather, the event is being cut short. They will finish helping families that are already there, and anyone on the way, but doors will close shortly.]

Bikes await kids at last year's
Holiday Bike Drive.(Photo © J. Maus)

With an Arctic blast of snow and wind hitting Portland this morning, and with images of closed roads and stranded cars streaming on the local TV news, the Community Cycling Center is grappling with what the weather might mean for their Holiday Bike Drive.

Over 500 bikes and hundreds of volunteers are all ready to go at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in North Portland this morning. However, Community Cycling Center communications director Alison Hill-Graves says a few families have already called to say they're staying home. (more...)

From the Holiday Bike Drive
in 2006.
- Slideshow below -
(Photo © J. Maus)

The Northeast Portland-based Community Cycling Center and their army of bike elves are all set to continue their 13-year Holiday Bike Drive tradition this weekend.

The event will provide refurbished bikes, new helmets, and basic safety education (delivered with fun) to well over 500 kids from low-income families in the region.

The bikes -- which will be lined up for kids to choose on their own -- have been donated throughout the year from more than 15 collection events. How long does it take to get all those bikes ready? The CCC says it took 1,000 volunteers over 3,000 hours to clean and repair them all.
(more...)

Just got this from the Bike Gallery:

Local Bike Retailer Gets Into the Spirit of Giving

Portland, Oregon – November 28, 2008. This December, one local bike retailer is shifting their holiday focus to help support an important holiday tradition – the 13th annual Community Cycling Center Holiday Bike Drive. November 28, 2008, through January 2, 2009, family-owned Bike Gallery is actively encouraging their customers to make a donation to local non-profit Community Cycling Center. During that time, Bike Gallery is inviting its customers to become a star on their Giving Tree by donating $5 or more to the Community Cycling Center (CCC). Anyone making a donation of $5 or more will receive a star to personalize with their name or a message. That star will go on a Giving Tree that is centrally located in the store. Your donation helps offset the costs of Holiday Bike Drive and other CCC programs. AND…for every star on the tree, Bike Gallery will donate $5 to the CCC!
(more...)

Kids got new bikes, and
the skills to ride them.
(View slideshow below)

Today at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in North Portland, 519 kids received a special holiday gift: a new bicycle.

Culminating over 5,000 volunteer hours over the past year, the Community Cycling Center's (CCC) Holiday Bike Drive was once again a big success.

Speaking at a brunch for supporters before the kids arrived, CCC executive director Susan Remmers said, "We hope today is about possibilities. This event is what we're all about...it's at the very heart of our mission." (more...)

A scenes from last year's event.
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

On Sunday, December 9th, 519 Portland kids will receive a shiny recycled bicycle, lovingly prepped and polished by an army of volunteers.

But despite the heart-warming smiles of anxious kids ready to pedal their new rigs, handing off the bike is just one part of this very special event.

To pull off their annual Holiday Bike Drive event, the Community Cycling Center (CCC) spends nearly all year organizing with over 65 individual caseworkers (all the kids are referred into the program), schools, and community organizations.

And then there are the volunteers. With one week to go before the event, they've already donated 1,538 hours of work. (more...)