By Distributing More Bikes, We Support MLK's Vision of a "Beloved Community"

There’s an old adage that says you can call something a tradition when you do it two years in a row. So here we are, kicking off 2022 with BBP’s newest tradition: bicycle distribution on MLK Day of Service. This coming Monday, January 17, our team and volunteers will gather to deliver bicycles for our part in the “national call to service initiative.”

First, some history of the day, sourced from AASCU:

“In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a "day on, not a day off." The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President's national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. The MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King's vision of a ‘Beloved Community.’”

By and large, our annual Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway is a smashing success of an event, where limitless opportunities are unleashed by the power of the bicycle, one magical bike at a time. And while there are always so many visible celebrations each year, inevitably two things are happening behind the scenes.

The first is that among the 500+ kids registered to attend the event, some percentage ultimately are unable to make it down to us on the day of the giveaway. As we’ve shared before, oftentimes our registered families face barriers that we can’t see. Oftentimes, those barriers come up at the last minute. We have systems in place to take immediate action, including a bike delivery service built into the structure of giveaway day. But still, communication barriers happen; and we ultimately close up shop for the year with bikes that still need to make it to their new homes.

Second, once registration for the event closes, our team digs deep into the work of preparing all of the dream bikes, as well as the logistics for the day. But thanks to the beautiful network in our community that casts such a wide net, there are folks who urgently need bikes but who have missed the opportunity to register. So as soon as registration closes, we immediately open a waitlist, with a goal to get dream bikes to those who are waiting as soon as possible.

Enter MLK Day of Service. Just like last year, we’re assembling a team of volunteers who will collectively deliver bikes to as many as 50 households this coming Monday.

Like last year, we’ll arrange bikes by zip code and neighborhood so that volunteers can efficiently deliver far and wide.

A byproduct of BBP’s participation in the MLK Day of Service is that new-to-us volunteers have a tangible way to make a big impact. We often meet folks looking for an entry point to our volunteer program, who perhaps are intimidated by the bike shop, or who don’t have mechanic skills, or who have been socially distancing in an effort to stay safe from the ongoing pandemic. MLK Day of Service provides an invitation to get involved in a way that’s super safe and inviting. And it’s more and more common for local employers to support the Day of Service and compensate employees for volunteering.

Two young riders received a delivery of their very first bicycles on 2021’s MLK Day of Service.

On Monday, volunteers, organizations, and community groups from all across the country will complete projects that collectively strive “to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.” I often think about how the next trip to school, the next job interview, the next doctor appointment, or the next social interaction with a friend is just one bike ride away. On Monday, we’ll be delivering those rides directly to those who need them.

Along with registrants from December’s Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway who haven’t yet been able to receive their bikes, 21 kids joined the waitlist for a bike. Help us cover all costs associated with those bikes. Just like December’s Dream Bikes, it costs BBP between $50 to $150 dollars to make each bike magical for each child or teen who’s waiting for it.