A bicycle can be much more than a toy.
For a child it can mean independence, exercise, adventure and perhaps the first feeling of being able to travel somewhere entirely under your own power.
On Saturday, September 26 from 9–10 a.m., The War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms becomes a collection site for Free Bikes 4 Kidz.
The nonprofit collects used bicycles, refurbishes them and puts them into the hands of children who otherwise might not have one.
Over the last seven years, the organization has provided 14,614 bicycles to underserved Metro Detroit children—and each child also received a new helmet.
That number is worth considering.
More than 14,000 children have experienced the simple pleasure of having a bike of their own.
Behind every donated bicycle are volunteers repairing brakes, replacing tires, adjusting seats and getting equipment ready for another child.
And behind every child is a family that may otherwise have found a bicycle financially out of reach.
Saturday’s collection makes helping remarkably simple.
If there is a bicycle in your garage that no one rides anymore, this may be the weekend to give it a new rider.
You clear a little space.
A child gets wheels.
Sometimes community service is that straightforward.
When: Saturday, September 26, 9–10 a.m.
Where: The War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Farms
