Waiting for new owners.
(Photos: Britt Appleton/CCC)
(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):
The impact these bikes are likely to have on these kids — and on our community — is exciting to consider. Thanks to the CCC and all the volunteers and sponsors that make it happen. Learn more about the Holiday Bike Drive on their website.
Love you, CCC.
The CCC is the best community bike organization in the country.
Great job, CCC! Those smiles are priceless.
I wonder, having seen pics of several of bike drives, do any of them tell parents about how fast kids pick up riding with balance bikes, and offer bikes with pedals removed instead of training wheels?
It is possible that it could be a liability thing as well since we are still in lawsuit-happy USA. Training wheels are just safer, although you are right that removing the pedals teaches kids balance quickly.
I have been doing the Tuesday night volunteer drop in nights for about 3 years now and I really wish I could have been here for this. I always had to work on Sundays the years before so was not able. Next year, I will make sure I sign up to volunteer for this.
I, too volunteer at the Tuesday night drop in; and I did manage to get into this event.
It was well worth it!
I have never seen such a well organized and well executed event as this one!
Great Job CCC! Love the smiles in those photos!
Thank you for the write-up, Jonathan!
And thank you everyone else for the lovely comments. The Holiday Bike Drive would not be possible without the support of our community who donated bicycles all year long at our nonprofit bike shop and at 15 collections around the Portland Metro region. Over 700 volunteers generously donated their time to help clean and refurbish the bicycles to prepare them for our big event yesterday.
We are adding up our final totals today, and it looks like 467 children received the gift of first bicycles, helmets and safety education. We are so excited for them!
Safe riding,
Melinda Musser
Communications & Marketing Manager
Community Cycling Center
Yes, thank you CCC for this amazing event. I got to welcome the families to the event and help with registration. Some of the kids were so excited they could barely stand still. And the smiles…reason enough to volunteer.
I applaud the CCC staff on such a smooth event – one could tell that a lot of forethought and work went into the whole day.
It’s funny they charge $5 for a donation. It’s worth it though. I will take them a bike.
makes me want to cry
The $5 is a suggested donation. We suggest a donation for each bike that is dropped off in order to offset the cost of evaluating each bicycle, storing it, pulling parts from it, etc.
We carefully evaluate every bike that is donated. Each bike is directed to where it is needed most, depending on program needs and the bike’s general condition.
Bikes in good condition are cleaned and refurbished by our professional mechanics.
Bikes in poor condition are dismantled; usable parts are salvaged. Unusable bikes and parts are recycled.
I helped with this event.
I do want to point out that the most impressive thing to me (by far the most) was the helmet-ing operation.
The doctors in the hospital donated all of the helmets; they were all new.
There was a very well organized effort to properly fit and adjust the helmets with the children before they went to select their bikes.