Joseph Mullo hopped on his very own bike in the Fair Haven Middle School gym Monday afternoon, where he and over 50 neighborhood children received brand new wheels from Devil’s Gear Bike Shop.
Each of the 65 bedazzled bikes had the names of a different child on a large name tag wrapped around the handle bars.
Each year a community organization, school or church in a different neighborhood is given the responsibility to decide which children will receive the new bikes as part of the giveaway program. This year the staff of Junta For Progressive Action (JUNTA) took up the responsibility of reaching out to needy families in the neighborhood. “It was a community effort,” JUNTA Executive Dire tor Sandra Trevino said. To find children who could use the bikes, the group reached out to the staff of Columbus School for recommendations.
This marks the 20th anniversary of the Bikes for Kids program, which was coordinated by the city’s Youth Services Bureau, and funded by a state grant. Carol Suber (pictured), the neighborhood program specialist for the bureau, has been organizing the event for years. The children normally receive their bikes in December. This year Suber decided to hold the event over summer, so that the kids would be able to “really ride and enjoy [their bikes]” Suber said.
Working with $10,000 for the event, Suber reached out to The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop on Chapel Street near Hamilton. Shop owner Matthew Feiner (pictured) worked with Suber to order and assemble bikes for as many children as possible. It’s been “a blast to help people,” Fiener said. It’s “so important to have [children] explore their neighborhood.” He said bikes enable them to “explore their environment, beyond the block to get a real feeling of the neighborhood [they] live in.”
The Devil’s Gear Bike Shop staff fit all the children for complimentary helmets and led a bicycle safety workshop.
Carol Suber said she fears the economy may prevent her from receiving grant money to hold the bike giveaway event next summer.