Looking for bicycles/parts donations for kids
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Looking for bicycles/parts donations for kids
Up here in my little town in Nunavut, there's a woman who's starting getting kids out on their bikes. They go for rides twice a week around town. However, not all of the kids have bikes and even when they do, some of them are missing parts or have broken parts. A lot of the kids around here are quite resourceful and have built up bikes from parts that they've scrounged up from the dump or around town, given to them by family and friends. There are even kids on these rides who don't have any bikes and they just run along ride in order to just be a part of the group and the experience overall. It's heart warming to see a little kid, give up their bike to a running friend so that they can actually ride for a bit as well.
I'm on here now, looking and hoping for some help. We're looking for bike parts (brakes, derailleurs, seats, etc...) for some of these bikes. Even if the parts are used, they will still be greatly accepted and appreciated. Remember these bikes are not fancy, they're your basic run of the mill Walmart/Toys R'US types at best, with a lot of them like I said, being built up from found parts. If you even have a small bike that you want to get rid of, it would be appreciated as well (would have to work out shipping on something like that though).
I'm on here now, looking and hoping for some help. We're looking for bike parts (brakes, derailleurs, seats, etc...) for some of these bikes. Even if the parts are used, they will still be greatly accepted and appreciated. Remember these bikes are not fancy, they're your basic run of the mill Walmart/Toys R'US types at best, with a lot of them like I said, being built up from found parts. If you even have a small bike that you want to get rid of, it would be appreciated as well (would have to work out shipping on something like that though).
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How big of a community are you in?
Around here, the thrift stores often are filled with kid's bikes, usually needing a bit of tinkering, but the prices are often $5 per bike... or less than the value of the tires and tubes on the bikes (if they have good tires).
Unfortunately shipping random parts would be expensive. At least I'd hate spending $50 to ship a $5 bike, although I suppose one could strip the valuable parts like tires, tubes, seats, etc... then pack a bunch in a box.
How far are you from the nearest big city? Perhaps grab a trailer and drive to a moderate size city, and buy every thrift store special you can find.
Around here, the thrift stores often are filled with kid's bikes, usually needing a bit of tinkering, but the prices are often $5 per bike... or less than the value of the tires and tubes on the bikes (if they have good tires).
Unfortunately shipping random parts would be expensive. At least I'd hate spending $50 to ship a $5 bike, although I suppose one could strip the valuable parts like tires, tubes, seats, etc... then pack a bunch in a box.
How far are you from the nearest big city? Perhaps grab a trailer and drive to a moderate size city, and buy every thrift store special you can find.
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I'm in a fly-in only community of about 1500 people. We have 2 general stores and not much else. The closest "big city" if you want to call it that, is Yellowknife. It has a population of approx 18-20,000 and it's around 370 miles (600 kms) south of me. We have a deal with one of the local airlines to ship the bikes up to us for free from Edmonton.
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Right now though, we also have a kickstarter campaign through GoFundMe for those that want to help. Bicycles For Kids by Jeremy Tremblay - GoFundMe
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This is really a good thought of donating our used bicycle parts for those kids in need. I request from behalf of Photogshooter14 to all members of this forum and visitors to help out in this project.
Last edited by SamSchwartz; 07-01-15 at 04:14 AM.
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Cool project. There's a bikeshop here in Portland that has a similar mission. They are far larger, of course. You might try contacting them. They'll be interested even if they cannot give you direct help and they might have ideas, or know people. Plus if you can get the ear of the right person, you might find yourself talked up in good places.
Community Cycling Center I am reluctant to give a link for fear it might be a source of them getting hacked and I know and care about them, but googling Community Cycling Center will get their site. Go to Contact Us and you will see a lot.
You could also try contacting the Executive Director of Cycle Oregon, Allison Graves. Welcome Alison Graves, Cycle Oregon?s New Executive Director | Cycle Oregon (I'm pretty sure CO has a robust website.) She led Community Cycling Center before moving up to Cycle Oregon. A doer with her heart completely in the right place. I have no idea what she could do for you, but it certainly wouldn't hurt and if she did speak of you, well she commands a big audience. Someone might hear.
And to both CCC and Allison, feel free to say Ben Jeffries gave you the idea.
Ben
Community Cycling Center I am reluctant to give a link for fear it might be a source of them getting hacked and I know and care about them, but googling Community Cycling Center will get their site. Go to Contact Us and you will see a lot.
You could also try contacting the Executive Director of Cycle Oregon, Allison Graves. Welcome Alison Graves, Cycle Oregon?s New Executive Director | Cycle Oregon (I'm pretty sure CO has a robust website.) She led Community Cycling Center before moving up to Cycle Oregon. A doer with her heart completely in the right place. I have no idea what she could do for you, but it certainly wouldn't hurt and if she did speak of you, well she commands a big audience. Someone might hear.
And to both CCC and Allison, feel free to say Ben Jeffries gave you the idea.
Ben