Hey there, it’s Christa!  

As we begin focusing our energy towards the 2019 Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway, I thought I’d give you a brief recap of BBP’s Youth Programs this spring, summer, and fall! Thank you to all the volunteers and members whose support makes our programs possible!

The Grand total of Kid Bike Giveaways: 367 bikes!

The bicycle is a vehicle of self-propelled freedom, and for kids, receiving a bicycle means a ride to school, a ride to the park, a ride out of the house, or a ride to independence. For each kids bike we give away, Boise Bicycle Project ensures that that child participates in a bicycle safety lesson, and receives a helmet, lights or reflectors, and a lock. This year, so far, Boise Bicycle Project has donated 367 bikes to kids in our community!

Kids B.A.S.H.: 261

Each month BBP donates about 30 to 40 bikes to kids 11 and younger at what are called our Kid BASHes. BASH stands for Bicycle and Safety Hour: after getting their bikes kids head to the parking lot across the street where they learn how to keep their “head, shoulders, knees and toes” safe, about the ABC Quick Check, how and when to stop their bike, and how to talk to cars with their hands. They practice riding through safety courses set up with cones and chalk.  

Bikes to Community-Organized Safety Courses: 66

Sometimes it’s difficult for kids from communities farther out to make it to our shop to take our safety course and pick up a bike. In these cases, communities have organized their own local bike safety courses, which Boise Bicycle Project has donated bikes to. 47 of these bikes went out to Duck Valley Reservation, which has since taken steps to grow its bicycle infrastructure and bike safety education.  

Youth Earn a Bike: 40

For kids ages 12 through 18, who have more autonomy in their decision-making and goal setting, we offer two pathways to earn a bicycle, lights, lock and helmet from us.  One is a formal, day-long introductory bike maintenance class offered on Saturdays throughout the summer. 28 teens, primarily of the refugee community, but not exclusively, graduated from these classes. The alternate pathway, intended to serve our shop walk-ins, is to volunteer for 6 hours in our shop in exchange for a project bicycle that they work together with us to fix up. 12 kids earned bicycles through volunteering this year.  

Mobile Repairs & Kid Fix-it Nights:  40 stops, averaging 14.5 kid bikes fixed per stop!

Donating bikes is the first half of the story; fixing them is the other. Goatheads are notorious in Idaho for their destructive power, and that’s only the beginning of what kids’ bikes experience in their adventures.  BBP will fix for free any bike a kid has received from us--and frequently any kid bike at all! Every other Thursday from 6pm to 8pm BBP hosts Kid Fix-it nights at our shop, and for kids who can’t make it to our shop, BBP will ride our Mobile Repair Trailer to schools and apartment complexes to fix bikes where they’re at. Our record--most bikes fixed at one stop--was at Whitney Elementary on August 28th: we fixed 34 bikes! Our last mobile repair of the season is today, October 23rd, at Morely Nelson Community Center, from 4pm to 6pm.  Come join! :)

Shifting Gears & Operation Kickstand, Bikes Built: 255

BBP’s Shifting Gears & Operation Kickstand programs benefit their participants at the Men’s and Women’s Correctional Centers by providing a meaningful way to engage with the community beyond their center. These programs also provide the necessary bike build base to support the quantity of bikes BBP has been giving away each month. The men and women service all 12”, 16”, and 20” bikes before they come back to our shop. In total we’ve given away 255 of their bikes, and we have over 100 stored so far to give away at the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway!

Volunteer Shout-outs

After bikes have been serviced by the women and men in Shifting Gears and Operation Kickstand, BBP’s volunteer mechanics double check their work and provide the final touches. These volunteer mechanics also help service larger kid bikes with 24” and 26” wheels and shifting systems. Thank you Steve, Chris, Don, John, Mike, Bryan, Yumi, Paula, Chuck, Rob, Steve, Paul, Ken, and so many more who make our Youth Programs possible!  

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:

As I mentioned, we are now entering the season of ‘all hands on deck’ for the holiday giveaway!   The 2019 Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway is Saturday, December 21st, and we’ll be giving away 500 bicycles!   If you would like to be involved in preparation for our largest giveaway of the year, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Sam, at sam@boisebicycleproject.org. If you are interested in volunteering for the day-of event, keep an eye out for event sign-ups on our website.  

Thank you everyone!
-Christa, Youth Program Coordinator, christa@boisebicycleproject.org