Good Karma Bikes paying it forward with donated bicycles
It’s been a bit of a summer for Good Karma Bikes, the San Jose nonprofit bike shop that supports atrisk youth and others who use bicycles as their primary transportation. In June, the repair shop and store on Lincoln Avenue was hit by its latest burglary and it was a really bad one with several new bikes and customer bikes stolen.
“The community really stepped up and supported us, both financially and with bicycle donations,” said Jim Gardner, Good Karma’s founder and CEO. The bike shop has been open limited hours: Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
But then a pretty amazing turn of events happened that allowed Good Karma to pay forward some of the goodwill it had received. In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, northwest bike manufacturer Kona Bicycles offered Good Karma a dozen new bikes that were to be distributed to groups supporting the African American community or others in need.
Then an African American man walked into Good Karma looking for a bike. He had suffered a double pulmonary edema on July 4 and had beenoutofworksincethen.Hisdoctor told him riding a bike would be good exercise for him during his recovery.
“He was a perfect choice,” Gardnersaid.
Not long after, a board member told Gardner about a homeless veteran whose bike — which he used to go to chemotherapy treatments — had been stolen. People who knew him around downtown San Jose encouraged him to go to Good Karma for a replacement, and while the man, known only as Norton isn’t Black, Kona’s sales rep felt the donation fit into the spirit of the effort.
“He was overjoyed,” Gardner said of Norton’s reaction. “He had no idea it would be a new bike.”
Since then, Gardner has distributed the remaining bikes to the Maranatha Christian Center, a largely African American church on South Seventh Street in San Jose that’s led by Senior Pastor Tony Williams, and Umoja, a program at San Jose City College aimed at supporting African American students.
“What’s really beautiful about this is that now we can establish an ongoing relationship with both Maranatha and Umoja,” Gardner said.
By the way, Gardner — like Kona Bikes — wasn’t looking for publicity for these acts of generosity. He told me he had hoped to stay under the radar, but he opened up when I told him that good news is in short supply these days.
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S NEW GUIDE >> Lots of people in Silicon Valley would like to support Black-led organizations, but don’t necessarily know where to start. Fortunately, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation has recently launched a “giving guide” that features more than 50 nonprofits in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties that are led by Black CEOs or executive directors.
“We believe it is critical to support the Black leaders of our local nonprofits and the incredible work they and their organizations are doing in our region,” Community Foundation Communications Director Chau Vuong said, adding that the “evolving” guide serves as just the start of the conversation and doesn’t fully recognize the breadth of work being done to support Black communities.
Check it out at siliconvalleycf.org.
GOOD DEED DEPT. >> Humane Society Silicon Valley provides basic veterinary services for the pets of homeless families in Santa Clara County. That effort got a big boost thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Petco Foundation.
Stephanie Ladeira, Humane Society Silicon Valley’s chief of philanthropy and community development, said animals bring needed stability and joy to families in crisis and the Petco Foundation donation will be key to helping keep those pets healthy.
“This service has been critical as we see an increased need for people to have access to care and services after being impacted by COVID-19 and the economy,” she said.