“It’s even cooler than I imagined!!!” Gibron shouted as a BMX bike with blue wheels and red grips was wheeled towards him in the Boise Bicycle Project’s shop. But this wasn’t just any bike, this was the bike that he’d drawn and been dreaming of… and it was even cooler than he’d imagined it to be! Gibron hastily jumped onto the seat and zoomed out of the shop into the closed street filled with other cyclists. As he took off, the line of families & volunteers outside of BBP broke into applause, and kids excitedly readied themselves to see the bike they’d been dreaming of.

This is a glimpse of one child of hundreds who got to experience the joy a bike can bring during the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway that happened last Saturday, December 16th! Over 500 kids, their families, and 300+ volunteers joined together to fulfill needs in our community. Bikes weren’t the only thing being given away; warm clothes, hot cocoa, take-home food, bike lights, locks, helmets, and more were provided. The Lusk District was transformed into the happiest block in Boise! Safely closed off from cars, kids could ride their new bikes and our community could gather to support them. 

On Saturday, there were kids who:

• Never had the chance to ride a bike before

• Had been dreaming of owning their own bike for years

• Wanted a bike to ride with friends

• Wanted a bike to get to school

• Had barriers that made owning a bike seem impossible 

• Had to leave their bikes when fleeing their home country

Josephine was a child who exemplified the spirit of the day. Her mom had been looking for an adaptive bike that would fit Josephine’s needs for years. This year we were able to build Josephine’s dream bike- a handcycle with pink and purple decor. Our staff member, Julia, sewed new cushions for the bike seat and embroidered her name on them in purple thread. Josephine and her family were ecstatic! 

Over 50 kids, teens, and families from the Ukrainian Welcome Center in Nampa were able to take part this year. Most of them had real transportation needs, and many had to leave their bikes when fleeing Ukraine. Entire families received bikes on Saturday and, upon getting them, excitedly made laps up and down Lusk Street!

In total, over 700+ bikes will be given to kids who were registered for the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway and kids in Fort Hall and Duck Valley Reservations. All 572 of our dream bikes were adopted thanks to your help. There were immense social media and other shares about the crash into the BBP building. Local businesses stepped up to fix bikes, knit hats, gather food, patch the hole in our shop, decorate the patched hole for our event (wow!), and more! When we needed to find an XL orange mountain bike for one of our teens and made an ask on social media, an XL orange Salsa bike was delivered the next day! We really can’t even begin to count the number of ways people and businesses have stepped up to support us- in ways that we didn’t even know we needed!

Thank you sincerely for helping us make this tremendous impact in our community, we’re celebrating at Boise Bicycle Project and hope you are too! Let’s make 2024 another impactful year.

The Boise Bicycle Project Team