ST. PAUL, Minn. (BRAIN) — Park Tool has announced the winners of the company's third annual Community Tool Grants program. Park awarded 10 nonprofits with bicycle tools and repair stands to help them continue to make a difference in their community. This year, more than 100 nonprofits applied for the grants from all corners of the world. Each of the grant recipients will receive more than $1,400 in Park Tool products including a PK-3 Professional Mechanic Tool Kit, two PCS-10 Portable Repair Stands and a copy of "BBB-3 Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair."
"Every year, when we sit down to discuss each of the amazing organizations that apply for the grants, we are blown away by all the good work people across the globe are doing to get and keep more people on bikes. We encourage any of the fine organizations that didn't win this year to apply again for consideration in 2019," said Eric Hawkins, Park Tool's president/owner and chief mechanic.
The 2018 Park Tool Community Tool Grant Winners are:
- Bitsa Bikes — Yokine, Australia: Bitsa Bikes recycles discarded and unwanted adult bikes which are then given to homeless shelters and people in Perth, Western Australia. Some bikes are given to individuals, some to shelters to use as pool bikes used by approximately 200 people. https://www.facebook.com/BitsaBikesWA/
- St. Luke's Table — Ottawa, Ontario: St Luke's Table is a community drop-in center whose target population are the homeless and marginalized in the city of Ottawa. They offer a free weekly bicycle repair clinic to St. Luke's Table participants, providing a necessary service which helps those with neither the means nor ability to maintain a safe, well-functioning bike for transportation, recreation, health and well-being. http://www.stlukestable.ca/
- Sacramento Loaves and Fishes — Sacramento, California: Sacramento's Loaves and Fishes is a homeless survival services organization (meals, shelters, health services, etc.) that serves the local homeless population (3,600 people). They are expanding their bicycle repair services to help meet the demand of the many visitors who rely on bicycle transportation for their daily lives. https://www.facebook.com/pg/loavesandfishes/photos/?ref=page_internal
- Community Bicycle Center — Biddeford, Maine: The Community Bicycle Center (CBC) is an after-school youth enrichment program that empowers kids to lead positive lives in their communities. All of our programs are free to participate in, and in 2016, CBC youth earned more than 150 bikes, and rode more than 6,000 miles. With a small staff of three (and lots of caring volunteers), kids learn life skills such as resiliency, problem solving, effective communication and teamwork. http://communitybike.net
- Indianapolis Metro Police Dept. / Indy Public Safety Foundation — Indianapolis, Indiana: Indy Public Safety Foundation Is a program whose goals are to introduce youth in the urban core to mountain biking, build technical bike skills, build self-confidence and communication skills, promote healthy living and promote respect for nature and utilization of Indianapolis's vast parks. http://www.facebook.com/HQsMTBpark
- Freewheels Houston — Houston, Texas: Freewheels Houston is a volunteer organization that distributes donated used bicycles to refugees who have resettled in Houston, the leading city for welcoming refugees in the United States. Distributing 200 bikes in 2017 to people fleeing civil war and violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Nepal, Eritrea and Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://freewheelshouston.org
- Twin Cities Adaptive Cycling — Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twin Cities Adaptive Cycling (TCAC) is a community-based cycling program for youth and adults with disabilities in Minneapolis. TCAC provides customized adaptive bicycle fittings and low-cost regular use of adaptive bicycles, comprehensive education and training, and opportunities for group rides. http://www.tcacycling.org
- Wheels for Winners — Madison, Wisconsin: Wheels for Winners is a nonprofit that has operated an earn-a-bike program serving Madison and Dane County for 25 years. In cooperation with more than 20 host organizations, it presents bikes to youth and adults who earn them by doing at least 15 hours of community service. In addition to a bicycle, earners receive a helmet, a lock and a city of Madison bicycle registration sticker if they reside in Madison. The nonprofit gives away approximately 200 bicycles annually. http://wheelsforwinners.org/
- Front Yard Bikes — Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Front Yard Bikes serves youth from impoverished communities, ages 6 to 18, who want to earn a bike of their own by becoming a "bike mechanic" in our bike shop. More than 200 young people help repair and rebuild hundreds of broken and used bikes each year, who then utilize these bikes for both recreation and transportation. The founder, who is the shop coordinator, supervises two AmeriCorps members each year who work with multiple volunteers from biking organizations and the local university. http://www.frontyardbikes.com
- Velo Cruces — Las Cruces, New Mexico: Velo Cruces operates a community bike shop whose goals are to address the needs of low-income cyclists, be a focal point for bicycle repair education, and be a center for promoting safe cycling to the entire community. Established in 2015, VC is a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit with a mission to "transform Las Cruces into a great bicycling and pedestrian community." http://www.velocruces.org
Recipients of the Park Tool Community Tool Grants will receive their products in the coming weeks.
