Posted by marilynch
How to help: Bikes, gear, skills for youth and others without
Some of you collect bikes like guitars! And some of those are mostly gathering dust.
Spare bikes and gear, as well as knowledge and skills, can all be put to good use!
Used (or new) bicycles, bike parts, tools, bike locks, lights, reflectors, high-visibility apparel, or other bike gear in good working order–as well as new helmets–are needed by youth and adults without these items right here in Monterey County.
“Wish I had a bike . . . .”
Can you imagine seeing others riding on the beautiful Monterey Bay Coastal Trail and wishing you had a bike so you could glide along on the bike/multi-use path too? Or not having a car and wishing you had a bicycle to take on the MST bus bike racks so you could get to more job interviews on time? Think that’s not too common in Monterey County? Think again!
Did anyone donate bikes this past year?
Men in Transition have benefited from just such donations, as did Safe Place for Youth last December. These organizations can use additional support, and others are still awaiting donations of bikes and biking items.
Don’t have a bike or gear to donate? You can still help.
Maybe you don’ t have good used bikes or equipment, but you have time and skills to share. Some of these organizations also need help in teaching:
- bike maintenance and repair
- bike safety skills
- how to read bike maps and choose where to ride, including safest routes
Contact Mari to learn more.
As mentioned below, gift cards to local bikes shops are also welcome.
Who especially needs help now?
- Interim, Inc. Interim provides affordable housing and support for adults with mental illness. Interim’s residents are all low-income adults with psychiatric disabilities. Many don’t drive or don’t have cars, so they use bikes to get to the store, to work, to doctor appointments, and to visit friends. Interim would like to collect good used bikes for use by Interim residents. Phone Susan Alnes, the Development and Communications Director at 831-646-2220, ext. 306 with questions or to make arrangements to drop off bicycles.
- Safe Place for Youth would love to offer the youth they serve an occasional small group bicycle ride accompanied by Safe Place staff and experienced local cyclists (perhaps a rotation from among our local bike clubs’ members). Safe Place would also welcome “how to change a flat” and similar basic bike maintenance instruction. Contact Vincent Delgado, co-director of Safe Place, with your questions, ideas, and offers to help; by email – vincent AT chservices DOT org – or by phone, 831-373-4421. Safe Place continues to welcome donations of good used or new bikes and gear too. Please refer to details on Safe Place in 2010 post below.
- Men in Transition. Contact John Clark of the First Presbyterian Church “Steady Job, Steady Life” program. John is in touch with MIT’s bike-related needs. http://www.fpcmonterey.org 831.373.3031
- Other ways to help: See “Salinas Youth and Others for Bikes: Bikes Make Life Better,” then jump down to subheader “A dozen ideas to help get youth on bikes.”
- Monterey County Youth Center. Class is happening! Thank you, bike community. See “Getting on the right path.”
New! Gears 4 Good
Update: Steve Benes has a goal of providing bikes for those who cannot afford them. Please visit http://www.gears4good.com/ and email Steve with your questions or offers to lend a hand. Steve has another high priority at present–a newborn baby! Let’s give him time to enjoy these precious newborn weeks before he gets this cool new project going.
Add’l update: As of 3/22/12, Gears 4 Good.com has been incorporated by Steve Benes, who plans to file for nonprofit status. He has collected a few adult and child bikes that require some work before they can be donated to those in need. His garage is running out of room, and he is looking for donated shop space. Visit http://www.gears4good.com/ and email Steve with your questions.
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Special thanks to Luke Shenefield, co-owner of True Clothing, Monterey (formerly Dress for Change, Pacific Grove) for donating five bicycles to Safe Place in response to the request below, which originally appeared on this site in December 2010. You’ll often see Luke and his wife, AnnMarie, and their children on bikes about town. Stop in at True Clothing and say hi; for nearest bike parking, see Shopping by Bike section’s Del Monte Center bike rack locations list. Luke is a veteran cyclist of Team Roaring Mouse.
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Season of Giving
As Christian Daniels, volunteer bell-ringer for the Salvation Army, can attest: The best parking at the Monterey Post Office today was for cyclists, right at the front door! Most PO patrons who came by car found it challenging to park. As you can see from the long line stretching into the box lobby, there were many people at the PO today, waiting their turn to have the hard-working staff help them get those Christmas gifts en route to loved ones.
In any season, shop by bike–or bike-and-ride
Maybe you’d like to bike for some of those holiday errands, but you just aren’t sure. Check out this site’s shopping-by-bike section. If you’re wondering about the chance of rain, see “Biking through the Seasons.“ And whether for a rainy-day back-up plan or just because you live too far from the places you need to get to, consider bike-and-ride options.
Bikes for at-risk, runaway, and homeless youth
Christian and others are well aware that many people in our community don’t have the option of shopping, or biking.
There are many fortunate kids in our community who not only have their own bicycles, they also have strong families they can rely on for back-up transportation. And there are also teenagers here who, for whatever reason, don’ t have a parent they can call on for a ride. For such kids, a bicycle can especially be a godsend!
Donate a new or used bike or accessories directly
If you’d like to donate bikes to some bike-less members of our community, consider donating a new or good used bike to Safe Place. Visit the Safe Place website to learn how they serve local youth: http://www.chservices.org/youth_services/youthservices.html Perhaps you’ve read about them in the Monterey County Weekly’s story on “Invisible Children.”
Safe Place also welcomes donations of bike lights, locks, helmets, high-visibility apparel, tire-patch kits and basic bike tools, or other accessories. See Personal Safety for a few ideas.
Plenty of bike accessories available for Safe Place youth, and others, inside Aquarian Bicycles, downtown Monterey.
If you need to shop for new items to donate, visit any of the Monterey County bicycle shops. Our local bike shops and services can also help you tune up a good used bike so it’s in tip-top condition before you donate it to Safe Place; prices for servicing bikes are usually very reasonable. You may call Safe Place at (831) 373-4421 to make arrangements to drop off your donations.
Donate a gift card for a local bike shop
Too busy? Call a local bike shop and use your debit or credit card by phone to have a gift card for Safe Place waiting for them at the bike shop. A Safe Place staffer could later come by and choose what’s most needed. Safe Place is near the downtown tennis courts and Jacks Park, and it is also close to the Monterey Sports Center. There are two bike shops very closeby–Aquarian and Joselyns, and these would be especially appropriate shops to patronize if you are purchasing a gift card for Safe Place.
Neither rain, nor wind will keep Joselyns from taking care of your bike–or one you’d like to donate to Safe Place youth!
Season of giving
Thanks to Christian Daniels for taking time out today to help our community. You may want to check out the Salvation Army’s free iPhone app that allows you to be a Salvation Army virtual bell-ringer. In my childhood years, my parents would place boxes of reusable clothing and other goods on the porch regularly for the Salvation Army pick-up. In 2002, I became aware of the extent of this organization’s good work when a beloved elder and his family benefited greatly from the local Salvation Army’s adult day care setting.
When you’re out doing holidays errands, please pause and support the Salvation Army or other local charities. As I’m sure you’re aware, there are many folks who not only don’ t have the money to go shopping, or a bike to go biking, their needs for basic necessities are urgent.
Need more ideas for where to contribute? Check out Monterey County Gives, a project of the Monterey County Weekly.
Happy holidays!
