December 2007 — Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, donors, and parterning agencies, 500 children took home their very own refurbished bicycles, new helmets, and safety education at this year’s Holiday Bike Drive!

The bike drive took place Sunday December 9, 2007 at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, which generously donates space each year to the event. In the morning, children and their families began gathering to watch interactive bike safety demonstrations like “Helmet Egg Drop” and “Traffic Signals”. Afterward, each child was paired with a volunteer who escorted them to the helmet fitting table and then to rows and rows of bicycles, where (with the help of trained volunteers) they chose the perfect-fitting bicycle.

The above photos are courtesy of photographer Chad Berkley, who volunteered at the event. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, please check out the following blogs to see some amazing coverage of Holiday Bike Drive. Both Chad and Jonathan Maus (of BikePortland.org) really capture the magic of the day!

BikePortland.org, Jonathan Maus — Holiday Bike Drive brings smiles (and a new set of wheels) to over 500 kids

OffHeGoes.net, Chad Berkley — 2007.12.08-09 Holiday Bike Drive

If you like what you see and would like to help us reach our goal of raising $46,000 by the end of the year, please consider donating to the Community Cycling Center through the Give!Guide.

Who Receives a Bicycle?

Children ages 3-9 years old are referred by social service agencies and schools around the Portland Metro area. Then, we perform a complex matching project to connect kids with the refurbished bicycles. Click here to learn about how partners rfer children to Holiday Bike Drive.

How Do You Get the Bicycles?

If you didn’t know about the 2,000 volunteers involved, you’d think it was magic that makes the Holiday Bike Drive happen. Starting in February each year Community Cycling Center staff and volunteers to collect, clean, and refurbish the bicycles to get them ready for the big day.

As the bikes are getting prepared and the kids are getting registered we raise money to support our programs. This year our goal is to raise $46,000 to cover our costs.

How Can I Help?

Help give a child their first bicycle, a new helmet, and safety education this year!

1. Give online through the Give!Guide
It’s easy, secure, and fun (really!). In addition to the online giving, featured organizations are eligible for additional cash prizes for generating the most total donations or the greatest number of donations from people aged 35 and younger PLUS all donations over $25 are rewarded with gifts!

2. Make a tax-deductible donation directly to the Community Cycling Center

• online using our secure system through Groundspring.org;
• mail us a check;
• phone in a credit card number; or
• stop by our shop.

3. Give the gift of a bicycle to a child with a Bike Gift Card
Buy a Bike Gift Card — a $50 donation — in the name of a friend, family member, or co-worker and we will send a lovely card telling them about your gift – and a child in our community will have their first bike, a new helmet, and safety education at the Holiday Bike Drive. You can buy a gift card in our shop or call us and we will send the card right away. You can also download an order form here and mail it in. (Sorry, we aren’t set up for online orders - yet!)

4. Organize a Giving Campaign
It’s fun, makes a big difference, and we make it easy by providing all the materials you need. What you need to do:

• Promote the campaign - we will send you all the materials
• Organize a meeting or distribute giving envelopes and gift card order forms

We will follow up with a letter to your group with a summary of your success!

Call Alison at 503-288-8864 for materials.

5. Donate Bikes
Bike donations are tax deductible and can be dropped off during our shop hours. Please see the Bike Donation page for details. We most appreciate gently used bikes, with a specific need for small youth bikes. We suggest a $5 donation for each bike to help cover the cost of processing the bike.

6. Volunteer Your Time
Used bikes come to us dirty, a sign that they were well-loved by their previous owners. Volunteers can help with the most basic and essential of tasks: cleaning bikes. We can accommodate groups as large as 50 people and we also have drop-in nights every week for individuals. Please see our Volunteer Page or contact our office at Volunteer@CommunityCyclingCenter.org or 503-288-8864.

Who Else Has Helped?

Holiday Bike Drive is a community effort in every sense of the word. Besides the hundreds of individual donors and volunteers, many local businesses help promote the event and make it special for everyone involved. We thank these organizations for their wonderful support.

Tin Shed Garden Cafe

BikePortland.org