Recycling for a cause
Charity bike program gets kids on two wheels
For many families facing poverty, buying sporting goods for their kids just isn’t a reality. But thanks to the Kiwanis Club Calgary’s Chinook chapter, many children get to enjoy the use of bicycles and other sporting equipment. The club has given hundreds of bicycles and helmets to charitable groups since 1997.
Today, the club’s program gives away its 5,000th bike.
The bike giveaways, which happen four or five times a year, come from local businesses, community groups and Calgarians. Some also come from the Calgary Police Service’s evidence and property unit.
Bikes requiring a tune-up go to the Calgary Correctional Centre where prisoners fix them up.
“Children in need benefit by getting recreational equipment, bicycles are kept out of landfills, and offenders learn a new skill while being accountable for their actions,” Jonathan Denis, minis- ter of Justice and Solicitor General, said via email.
Helmets and other sporting goods are purchased with funds raised through sales of sporting equipment or donations.
Program manager Darlene Kerr and a group of volunteers ensures the process is seamless and that as many children and families get bikes as possible.
“I send out a notice to all of our agencies, letting them know we will be having a giveaway on this day, and they send me a list of people that they hope to get bikes for,” says Kerr.
Once they get the required number of bikes, the agencies are contacted to come pick them up.
More than 10 local agencies benefit from the program, including the Bow-west Community Resource Centre, which serves 28 communities in Calgary’s northwest.