The 2021 Kids Holiday Bike Giveaway was held over two Saturdays in December, with a third date in November partnered with Nature Kids/Jovenes de la Naturaleza in Lafayette, CO. We served 120+ families and gave away almost 300 bikes to kids ages 4-12 at this annual event.
Bike Helmets Donated
Boulder Community Health staff volunteered at each event, fitting 375 helmets to all family members, even if they weren’t receiving a bike. Joan DePuy, who leads this helmet mission, said “This is an important opportunity for parents to model safe cycling behavior for their kids.”
Metro-wide Reach
Our focus is on families that live in the City of Boulder, though we were able to include some families from Boulder County and surrounding areas who had children that fit the bike sizes where we had an abundance. With a waiting list of over 100 families, it was a joy to be able to invite more to receive bikes!
While Community Cycles coordinates the Boulder giveaway, the Lafayette giveaway is in partnership with Nature Kids, who selects the families to receive bikes. It was held at Aspinwall at Josephine commons, a housing community operated by Boulder County Housing Authority.
An observation from Sandee Cirian, Program Manager: “The need for kid’s bikes was greater this year than even 2020. The pandemic is still affecting so many families, who are not able to buy their child a bike. This service we provide is vital for our community, to be able to give a bike to ride to school and with their friends.”
Our Community Makes This Possible
30+ volunteers from our Boulder community, along with staff from Community cycles, helped out on the Kids Holiday Bike Giveaway 2021 to be sure the day flows smoothly for families. Some of our volunteers have been doing this for 10+ years! Steve said, “I’ve done this every year since it’s inception. I have helped kids and parents find the right sized bike. AMAZING!!” First time volunteer Dean said, “I think I got more out of this than the kids! Those smiles – it made my day.”
We also rely on donations, both monetary and kids bikes, to help this program succeed. You can support the Kids Holiday Bike Giveaway with your monetary donation here and you can find out how to donate a kid’s bike here.
We couldn’t put on an event of this magnitude without the support of our sponsors. These donors help “seal the deal” and ensure a kids bike day is an experience not to forget. This year Team Evergreen Cycling stepped up with a generous grant to round out a wonderful group of sponsors: City of Boulder, Boulder Community Health, Boulder Neurosurgical & Spine Associates, Hazel’s Beverage World, Packard Dierking and Walnut Cafe/Kirk Rocky Derischsweiler Foundation.