Free Bikes for Kids WI: "We'll celebrate our volunteers' work on 6/19."

This photo speaks volumes. It illustrates the smiles that bikes bring to kids' faces as well as the joy our volunteers experience at our bike giveaways. It also hints at the evolution of bikes throughout our lives. As a kid, our first experience with a bike is overcoming that major hurdle—learning to ride. It takes perseverance, grit, and determination to get us confidently rolling on two wheels. Then, it brings fun, a sense of adventure and freedom. As a pre-teen, we realize the power it has to keep us connected to our friends, get us to school, or wherever we need to go. As a teenager, it's the independence and self-reliance as our bikes provide the transportation to take us to work, school, and other community events. As adults, it can become a lifestyle of commuting to work and making greener transportation choices. At Bikes for Kids WI, we realize the critical component of getting bikes to the littlest of kids. If kids don't have bikes, they won't have the opportunity to experience this evolution and fully realize the benefits of owning a bike. Therefore, as adults they are unlikely to choose a bike as transportation. 

As we witness our weather events becoming more and more intense, using a bike for transportation makes even more sense to many of us who want to choose a greener lifestyle to do our part in combatting climate change. There are many reasons we are compelled to do this work, the heartwarming smile of a child is where our journey in transportation equity starts. 

June 1st marks the start of Bike Week and we have a busy week and month lined up. On June 1st we'll host our Annual Everything Bikes Sale from 10-2pm at our bike center in Madison. Later in the month, we'll celebrate the efforts of our volunteers at the Volunteer Appreciation Cookout on Juneteenth, June 19. Everyone is invited to celebrate with us! We hope to see you at the bike center or on the trails soon. 

Thank you to those who share our passion & support our efforts,

Kristie GoForth, Executive Director