Flash back with me to 2019. It’s December, 21st. 7pm. As we’re cleaning up after our 13th Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway, a final family arrives. The tents are empty. The street is quiet. Our core team of BBP staff, board members, and volunteers have already moved all remaining bikes and supplies inside BBP. We’re finding ways to organize the chaos, tucking this here and that over there.

One final family arrives. There are 3 kids. One of the kids had been on the list for the giveaway, but the other two siblings weren’t. We welcome them inside. Quietly, almost without verbal communication, some staff members head to the back to identify 3 bikes and wheel them to the front. Someone is already setting locks. Somebody is finding where we had put the helmets. Someone else is chatting with the kids and their mom, asking about their day, their names, and where they’ll ride their bikes. Within a matter of minutes, our final family of 2019 is leaving BBP again, big smiles on their faces, bikes in tow. The energy among our small Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway crew is palpably different now, too. Just minutes ago, we were tired. Ready to leave. Now, we’re smiling. Laughing. Relaxed instead of exhausted. We just had one final reminder of why we push so hard all year long, and ask so much of our community, to make this day possible. It’s 7:30 now. We turn off the lights and lock the door. The Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway date for next year is already on the calendar. December 19, 2020.

Flash forward to today.

This very morning, Jimmy, Maureen, Nina, and I met for our first formal Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway planning meeting. To be totally transparent, we have no clear idea what HKBG 2020 will look and feel like. We have some blurry ideas, and that’s mostly what today’s meeting was about. We brainstormed as many blurry ideas as we could, and it turns out we have a lot of them. For now, we’re going to keep tossing around the blurry ideas until the one that makes the most sense sticks. We don’t yet know how and what, but we do know HKBG 2020 will happen. So…

Flash forward to December 19, 2020. 99 days from today. Which has me thinking: we sure do have a lot going on between now and then. Here’s a glance:

• Our big ‘ol Bikes ‘n’ Beers Warehouse sale! (Tomorrow, Saturday 9/12)

• Our ACHD Candidates Forum on Monday 9/28. Tickets are free but you must reserve in advance.

• Our Annual Appreciation Party and Fundraiser! October 9th at Idaho Botanical Garden. We’re holding details just a little bit longer, but we’re almost ready to unveil the awesomeness.

• Mobile Fix-Its: likely every Wednesday until it gets too dark or too cold

• Mini B.A.S.H giveaways: as long as we can until it’s time to incorporate all youth bicycle giveaways into the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway

• Our Annual Membership Drive in the months of October and November

And…

• Very soon, we’ll be rolling out lots and lots of new (and safe) volunteer opportunities for the rest of 2020, including and not limited to

  • Haulin’ bikes, cleanin’ bikes, collectin’ bikes, and refurbushin’ bikes

  • Supporting the stoke at upcoming events

  • Supporting the flow at the bike shop and in office

  • Hosting mini bike drives

  • And so much more

• You’ll start to hear from new BBP voices here on the blog, in the newsletter, and on social media

Bottom line. In the next 99 days we’ll be sharing a LOT of information and asking for a lot of support in the form of volunteer hours, donations, favors, or simply spreading the word on our behalf. And let’s not forget, we also want you to have a ton of fun with us inside our shop and at our events.

Every single thing we’ll be doing, sharing, and asking for will be leading up to the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway, which will happen some way and somehow. And we need your support, engagement, and interaction every step of the way. So, I have a request of you: tune in, read every word, and then spread the word. Hold on tight…we’re in for a 99 day wild ride.