Bikes for Kids at New Columbia
On Sunday, June 5th, a team of 49 volunteers, staff and New Columbia residents teamed up to provide 62 youth with new helmets, safety knowledge and their first bicycles. This was our first Bikes for Kids event of the summer, and a follow-up to last year’s inaugural event at New Columbia. Between Bikes for Kids and the Holiday Bike Drive, we have provided youth at New Columbia with 150 bikes over the past year.
Volunteers from the Community Cycling Center and New Columbia once again created a supportive, enriching, and fun experience for youth and their families. Youth learned about bike and personal safety through hands-on lessons, had their helmets expertly fitted, and then got to pick their dream ride from a sea of bikes. After a final adjustment from our crew of seasoned mechanics, each child headed out to the bike rodeo to practice stopping, turning and high-fiving!
Responding to resident requests, this year we also offered basic repairs for all community members. We set up a tent in McCoy Park, just across the street from the bike rodeo. Six of our stellar volunteer mechanics turned wrenches for three hours, performing repairs on over 50 bikes for youth and adults.
The basic repairs were extremely popular, and we plan to return soon to provide more support. Moreover, through our strong partnership with New Columbia, we are looking forward to developing a train-the-trainer program that will equip residents with the tools, skills and confidence they need to maintain their own bikes.
We would like to thank ODS for their sponsorship of Bikes for Kids at New Columbia, Legacy Emanuel for their generous support of helmets for this event, New Columbia’s Community Builder Nazareth Gadai, the Housing Authority of Portland, Village Gardens, and all the amazing volunteers who, every Tuesday night since March, have cleaned and repaired bicycles destined for this event.
Three of our volunteer photographers captured some amazing moments at New Columbia. Check out the photos from this event on our Flickr page.
 Photo by Greg Raisman