The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
GIFT OF A BIKE
Community Bikes provides hundreds of bikes for young and old
ONEIDA, N.Y. >> More than 200 bikes were taken home to happy Madison County residents and families in need at Community Bikes’ ninth annual Bike Day Sunday.
“It’s a wonderful experience to see all these kids here so happy and excited,” Cathy Joslyn, of Oneida, said. “That makes the whole day.”
Families lined up well over an hour before the giveaway at the Oneida High School to take home a bike.
Joslyn was there with her grandson, Caleb Chesebro, 13, who attends Otto Shortell Middle School. Just last week, Caleb’s bike was stolen, Joslyn said, and she was referred to Community Bikes by the school.
Caleb said it was difficult to get around and even harder to hang out with friends after losing his bike. Living on the Northside, Caleb said he’d sometimes ride all the way out to Glenwood Plaza to see friends. Without a bike, he spent most of his time inside.
Joslyn said she likes to see her grandson active, but a purchase like a new bike can be difficult for some families.
“A lot of parents and grandparents can’t afford bikes,” Joslyn said. “With this, kids can get a bike and they’re all smiles.”
Joslyn said she’d like to see
every child in the community with a bike and hated to see Caleb, or any child, running behind their friends while they all biked on ahead.
Community Bikes helps everyone in need of a bike, not just children.
When Community Bikes started to pick up, Community Bikes organizer Chuck Fox said he was surprised howmany adults there were in the community who really needed a bike. “There’d be people who can’t afford a car, can’t afford the gas, can’t afford the insurance or don’t have a license and have a place they need to be,” Fox said. “We had a guy who lived in Munnsville and he had to be in Wampsville every day for his workforce program. And he was walking. For all of us that live in Central New York, riding a bike in the middle of March might not be the best thing, but it’s better than walking.”
Bikes weren’t just going at the Oneida High School, they were also coming in. Francine Mills, of Chittenango, was there with her family to donate around 10 bikes.
“This is the first time we’ve donated, but we came to Bike Day last year at the Kallet Theater,” Mills said. “We’re giving all of these so people who need them can use them.”
Among the bikes being donated were ones previously given to Mills’s family by Community Bikes, now too small for her children. Other bikes, she said, were either given to them by people in the community to donate, or saved from ending up in the landfill. When asked why she felt the need to donate, Mills said people helped her family when they were in need and now she feels the need to help others.
Besides helping just Madison County, Community Bikes also helps at-risk youths in the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis; a small island country half the size of Madison County in both size and population. Fox said when Community Bikes was started, it wasn’t just focused on the local community, but the global as well.
St. Kitts and Nevis has a huge issue with gang and crime issues, Fox said. When Community Bikes first was starting, Fox said they connected with local officials and sent a plane-full of supplies to help youths in need.
“In addition to bikes, we sent hospital supplies, school supplies and musical instruments,” Fox said. “And out of that, Colgate University sent a group of students down to do an alternative break volunteer project to work with schools. And Hamilton College went on to do the same thing a couple years later.”
Fox said it was a big deal for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, making national news and having a big impact on the community. It sparked a new after school program for at-risk youths.
“Whatmakes the biggest difference is actually helping in the local community and that ripple affect,” Jesse Chandler, a volunteer from Chittenango, said. “This is may not seem significant to get one bike to one person, but it’s those little changes. If everyone makes those little changes, that’s what I believe will make our society better.”
Fox said if anyone is looking to donate a bike or for more information, they can contact Community Bikes at 315-825-1361 or email him at chuck.fox@communitybikes.org.