On Saturday Dec 17th, 2022, over 270 volunteers gathered at the Boise Bicycle Project to distribute 580 bicycles to kids in our community. It was a frigid day, about 10 degrees when folks first started arriving, and after a couple of hours standing on cold pavement, people were getting cold to bone. But then, the families started to arrive and something started to change. It began in people’s eyes as they saw the kids getting out of their cars, and then to their smiles when they saw the kid’s excitement, and then to the core (the Heart) when the interaction began. The warmth exchanged between volunteers and families receiving bicycles was overpowering.

Every volunteer at the giveaway shared a special moment with at least one family. It probably started with a smiling kid on a bicycle, full of joy and hope, and then amplified by the sharing of space and love with each family. Some of it I witnessed, but I know there’s far more that I missed.

I witnessed one volunteer group working with a family that had just arrived from Ukraine. When a heart shaped Ukraine sticker was placed on the oldest son’s bicycle, his face lit up with pure joy. When he rode away, the parents turned to the volunteers and wrapped their arms around them.

I saw one volunteer group teach a young boy with autism how to pedal an adult sized tricycle. At first he couldn’t keep his feet on the pedals, then some issues with pedaling backwards vs forwards, and then, all of a sudden, it clicked. His mom was in tears. “They told me he would never be able to do this.”

At 5pm the last of the kids left with their bicycles, it was beginning to get dark, and it seemed like the magic was coming to an end. Then, as I was directing volunteers to break down the event, I was approached by 4 young teenagers.

“Hey, we just really wanted to say thank you for organizing this event. We’re volunteering this year, but last year we received bicycles, and we just wanted you to know.”

I froze, I was speechless, I still don’t know how to articulate the moment.

There is some much work that goes into the Holiday Kids Bike Giveaway, work that is built on year after year, and work that is only possible through an abundance of community support. Most of the work is tangible. A broken bike. A dedicated volunteer. A community member who graciously covers the cost of a bicycle for a kid they don’t know… But there’s something else about the event that is harder to describe and reaches far beyond the bicycle. These intangible but intentionally magical aspects are what makes a volunteer stand in the cold for 8 hours, or a group of teens to sign up to give back to a mission that has given to them.

About 500 of the 580 kids registered got their dream bikes yesterday. Another 40-60 that weren’t received beautiful bicycles as well. The obstacles the parents and guardians had to overcome to get their kids to BBP is significant and admirable, and I am so proud of the way our volunteers treated them with respect and appreciation. We will spend next week getting a hold of the remaining kids and then… the important work, OUR important work, will continue.

Someday I hope to have the words to express how thankful I/we are to all of the people that abundantly contribute to the BBP community in so many amazing ways. We are so unbelievably lucky for each and every one of you.

Ride on Boise!
Jimmy Hallyburton