COCHRANE— The Kiwanis Club of Cochrane is collecting gently used bikes to provide to youth in need in the community.
The bike recycling program is one of the signature events for the Kiwanis Club, said president Ron Gosselin. For the past three years the club has collected used bikes and with the help of recyclers has made them available to disadvantaged youth in the Cochrane area.
The club has partnered with a new recycling partner this year who will help restore the bikes for youth in need.
“We’re just kicking off the program. It’s the time of the year where people want to have a new bike,” Gosselin said.
The first delivery to the recycler will include around 12 or 15 bikes that have already been donated to the club at the beginning of April. They are hoping to see around 10 more gently used bikes donated to the project.
Kiwanis has reached out to youth programs in the Cochrane area to see if there are any children they connect with who are in need of a bike.
The club is hoping to collect around 25 bikes throughout March and April. Once these bikes have been distributed another collection event will take place.
The club is looking for trail, mix road and trail, tykes and mountain bikes during the fundraiser.
“People go for twin-use, which is something that can ride on the street, but you can also ride on a trail— These are very popular right now,” Gosselin said.
He added they are asking for the bikes to be in good condition to minimize the work required by recyclers.
Those looking to donate a bike to the Kiwanis Club are asked to email a photo of the bike to [email protected] so it can be assessed by the recycling partner.
Another bike collection is expected to take place in mid-summer.
Since the bike recycling project began in 2019 the Kiwanis Club has distributed more than 80 bikes to children in the community.
The Kiwanis Club is introducing a new project in 2021 that builds on the organization’s biking history.
The club has partnered with the Bike Cochrane Society to bring a Bicycle Safety Day to the community on June 5. The goal is to see 100 children participate in the event where they will be able to have their bike and helmet safety inspected, trade their bike, learn about bike maintenance, road and trail safety and ride in the LaunchPad flow park.
“We’re really looking forward to this particular event,” Gosselin said.
Registration for the event will be set up in late April or early May.
Bicycle Safety Day is ready to launch, Gosselin said, as long as COVID-19 public health measures permit.
The day will be a mix of indoor and outdoor activities and youth will be split into groups of 25 that can visit five different stations. These groups will be further split to ensure that there are never more than five or six children at a station.
The club is in the midst of a five-year program designed to build signature projects in the community. They have already established the Christmas Toy Project and Bike Recycling, and the recently created bike safety day and return to school backpack projects.
The Kiwanis Club also has smaller service projects including creating Christmas hampers, food collection for Helping Hands, Kamp Kiwanis and a unique hand sanitizer and soap pandemic project.
All programs are geared toward helping the community's children.
“Kiwanis has always been about trying to help out kids in need and make them happier,” Gosselin said.
