Bronzeville Kids Will Get Donated Bikes This Weekend
(CBS) – Five hundred Bronzeville children will be able to hop on a new bike, thanks the T.A.G. Foundation and Little Village's Working Bikes.
Mechanics have been working for weeks to refurbish hundreds of donated and discarded bikes.
Working Bikes Board President Phil Kaplan says they ship bicycles overseas all the time, but donating locally is extra special.
"These bikes can really make a difference for these kids in Bronzeville or the lives of kids in Panama.We are shipping bikes to Panama next Wednesday," Kaplan sys.
The not-for-profit ships 6,000 bikes overseas and donates locally each year.
Marie Ackerman says the Bronzeville project is their biggest donation yet.
"It's exciting because we collect bikes all year but giving them away is the best part. It makes it all worth it," Ackerman says.
The event, dubbed the Bronzeville Bike Builder, takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school, 244 East Pershing. Kids 12 and under are invited to come learn bike safety skills and leave with a free bicycle.
Working Bikes is a 501(c)3 organization that was started in 1999 and is dedicated to recycling bikes, supporting bike culture, and helping international and local projects. Since its inception, the organization has given away 50,000 bikes.
