Bike Project
From our Bike Project coordinator, Gordon Doak:
First United Methodist Church's Bike Project is a ministry which finds salvaged or donated bikes and refurbishes them, then makes the bikes available to whomever applies for them. When we give out a bike we make sure the brakes work, the tires are road worthy, the tubes hold air pressure, and the derailleur shifts into gears.
Last year was a very special year for the bike project. I believe that God can be seen in small miracles and I think it was a small miracle that I could repair 37 bikes working alone. But I was never really alone. One of our church families reached out to this project and helped me by collecting abandoned bikes which I could repair or use for parts. There was another church family who gave me three boy's bikes. One bike I fixed by replacing a derailleur. I told the family that the bike was working and that they should give the bike to their younger son, who is a friend of my son, Austin. The man said that he still wanted to donate the bike. Our church administrator worked with me to place bikes with a family who had no other means of transportation This year there have been challenges and new opportunities. One challenge is time. Like many families, my children are involved in music and sports. These commitments are often on Tuesdays and Thursdays which are the times when I would like to be able to give out bikes to Pantry customers. Also, my job had demands on my time. In the month of May, I was asked to work extended work weeks including weekends.
One opportunity occurred this year, when a man from one of our Church families expressed an interest in fixing bikes like I do. He is also challenged for time with several children in sports, but he will find time to work on bikes too.
I enjoy fixing up the bikes and giving them away. I feel a sense of accomplishment if I can fix something broken and turn it into something useful. I say that I charge money to check the bikes out, but in reality I usually don't because most of our customers don't have a lot of resources to spare and it is a nice feeling for me to help a family in a small way by giving them or their children a bike to ride.
To find out more about this ministry, contact Gordon Doak at 626-6834.