Kid Bike Program Wrap-Up - Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop

By Larry Williamson, Sharing Wheels Volunteer Extraordinare

Sharing Wheels Community Bike Shop in Everett recently completed its final kids’ bike project for 2024 and recaps its kids’ program for the year…

The shop donated 155 bikes refurbished with 640 hours of volunteer labor over 30 work parties, mostly 3 hours each, with each party prepping 5 bikes on average! Bikes were in all kids’ sizes as well as a few adult sizes for bigger kids.

Sharing Wheels hosted 2 series of work parties – 12 in the Spring and 18 in the Fall. Most were evening events, but 3 were on Fall Sundays, generously run by these groups:

Boy Scouts of America Troop 91 in Silver Firs
Cascade Bike Club NERDS Riders
North Bend Mountain Bikers

Partner nonprofits

The 51 Spring bikes were provided to these organizations to give out to their clients:

The 104 Fall bikes were all delivered to Christmas House in Everett, now in its 44^th year providing holiday gifts to low-income youth up through age eighteen in Snohomish County. This year Christmas House gave out more than 51,000 gifts to above 8,000 kids in nearly 3,000 families!

Sharing Wheels, now in its 22^nd year, has partnered with Christmas House since early in our history. Financial constraints led to a decision by Christmas House to not purchase bikes this year, making the donated bikes from Sharing Wheels and others all the more important this season!

So many people to thank

I thank the many people of various talents contributing time and effort to make this 2024 program successful!…

The Stillaguamish Tribe for their financial support.
The Sharing Wheels Board of Directors for their financial assistance to the program. Also, five board members for their individual contributions:
- Claudia Douglass for ongoing help at evening work parties with hosting and bike mechanics.
- Steve Erickson for mechanics work in the shop and at work parties.
- Kristin Kinnamon for program communications support.
- Colleen Norcott for work party help.
- Lou Rivetti for assistance at work parties as mechanical expert support.
The Sharing Wheels Staff, all of whom had some involvement with the kids’ program, here highlighting several who made crucial contributions to the projects:
- Christy Cowley, Executive Director Emeritus, contributing to several areas. Most importantly, Christy communicated throughout the year with participants to make the program a success. Christy announced the projects, identified groups to receive SW bikes, encouraged volunteers to sign up for work parties, took follow-on action when sufficient sign-ups did not materialize, etc. Christy Cowley has been a most effective director these past five years and leaves big shoes to fill for our next executive director. Thanks, Christy, for your legacy to us!
- Staff mechanics Andrew Longstreet and Eric Andryc for providing great mechanical expertise at all work parties.
Tony Simonelli, long-time volunteer, for hosting half of the evening work parties.
Ion V and Luke A for hosting the three Sunday afternoon Fall work parties.
Mark D for help moving bikes – seven pickup truck loads – from storage to Christmas House.
Owner Steve D at Recycled Cycles (U District Seattle) and Shop Manager Bryce L at 2^nd Cycle (Tacoma) for each providing a full truckload of used bikes for use in our program, in addition to individual donations.
Special shoutout to Trek Bicycle Redmond. Service Manager Andrew M donated traded-in Trek bikes with little wear, in super condition and great value to our program throughout the year. The Trek donations made it easier to prepare enough bikes to meet our goal target and made for beautiful gifts for the kids.
Christmas House President Gregg M and our landlord Ted S for donating storage space to hold completed bikes pending delivery to Christmas House.
Nothing Bundt Cakes in Mill Creek for donating scores of bundt cakes for the work parties and 55 cakes for Sharing Wheels’ holiday celebration.
In addition to regular work in the shop, these volunteers worked at the evening and Sunday work parties:

Aaron T, Alan A, Amy F, Art T, Brice H, Chris H, Chuck H, David Z, Doug O, Ed B, Gordon A, Jake D, James L, Jeff A, Jeff B, Jeff Si, Jeff St, Jerry C, Jesse P, Jesus G, Jill W, Jim H, Joe E, John H, Kelvin A, Kristen C, Lauren U, Lawrence L, Marcus B, Mark G, Mike S, Mike T, Patrick S, Pete P, Phil K, Phillip A, Robert D, Rusty A, Scott K, Sean U, Tania G, Todd R, Vic C, and Will A.

All involved enjoyed the camaraderie at the work parties and the gratification of knowing that our restored bikes would soon be in the hands of local kids, thrilled to be riding their new bikes in their neighborhoods!

We delivered our final batch of 61 bikes to Christmas House on Dec. 17. As this was a significant delivery close to the last shopping day on Dec. 21, I asked a Christmas House director if they would have any trouble giving out these bikes over only four remaining days. His answer: “Not at all! The bikes are taken by parents for their kids immediately when they are set out!” So, Sharing Wheels can be satisfied that it has provided a valued addition to Christmas House for the community.

That director then asked me: “Are you coming back next year?” Without thinking, I responded: “Totally.”

So, it looks like we will be participating in the kids’ bike program in 2025…

Larry Williamson has coordinated our Kid Bike Program as a volunteer for many years. In addition to co-hosting kid bike work parties, he orders replacement parts, tracks down and delivers bikes, picks up bundt cakes, and “other duties as required” – including compiling this summary. We are grateful for his innumerable contributions. Larry is pictured with his wife Jean – who also supports Sharing Wheels.