Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010

Bike charity hopes to meet holiday need

On any given afternoon, neighborhood streets are filled with kids riding their bikes with friends. But some local kids do not have a bike in their garage because their family cannot afford one.

Enter the Triangle Spokes Group.

Over the past four years, the group has given more than 700 bikes to area children and is raising money now to put more bikes under family Christmas trees this holiday season.

"When you give a kid a bike, you are making it possible for them to go outside and play with their friends," said Jenn Nowalk, 33, co-founder of the group. "You are encouraging exercise, imagination and creativity."

When Nowalk and her friend Ashley Wilson, both Realtors, learned about a similar organization in Charlotte, they decided to start one here.

Throughout the year, Triangle Spokes Group raises money and then purchases bikes for the Salvation Army of Wake County to distribute during the holidays. Nowalk and Wilson cover all of the administrative and overhead costs for the organization out their pockets so all money raised can go directly to purchasing bikes. Because of safety reasons, they do not take donations of bikes and only provides new bikes to the children.

Eligibility to receive a bike depends on the number of bikes available. Last year, for example, the need was so great that bikes only went to families with four or more children. That was done to make sure the bikes got as much use as possible by being passed down from sibling to sibling. But even then, there were more families than bikes. In those cases, the Salvation Army holds a lottery. Thanks to a discount provided by Huffy, the group can provide a bike for $70, which includes a helmet and assembly.

In addition to providing a present for a child, the group's work also allows parents to give their children big ticket item they couldn't otherwise afford.

"It's wonderful to see the parent's face light up because they can bring such a great gift home to their children," Nowalk said.

"We don't get a lot of bikes donated through the angle tree program and their work allows us give out many more bikes," said Beth Luangamaph, associate pastor with the Salvation Army.