Leonor Morquecho watched with a smile as her 18-month-old son Eric climbed on a shiny blue bike last Saturday morning at The Historic Seaport in Aberdeen and glided around the blacktop with the help of training wheels.
“He’s small for his age, but we manage,” joked Leonor.
Leonor and Eric were at the mill for the “Bicycles from Heaven” program, an effort by the Aberdeen Lions Club and Stafford Creek Corrections Center to donate refurbished bikes to families and children in need.
The Lions Club collects used bicycles donated throughout the year by members of the community then sends them to Stafford Creek where inmates refurbish and fix up the bikes to look like new before giving them away to local families.
“It’s a win-win,” said Aberdeen Lions Club Member Gene Schermer. “The inmates are learning a trade and we’re able to take old bikes and give them to needy kids or adults.”
Schermer expects the Lions Club will give away roughly 200 bikes this year, with 100 given away on Saturday and 50 at another giveaway last Tuesday. Families apply through the Salvation Army to take part in the program.
The bikes were lined up in neat rows on Saturday at the Seaport where the Lions club stores them. A booth was set up outside where parents signed in and had their applications checked before picking out a bike just in time for the holidays.
Echoing voices and honking horns could be heard throughout the warehouse as eager kids peered around the room looking for a two-wheeler that caught their eye.
“You got it, it’s yours,” said one Lions Club member to a young boy smiling ear to ear before wheeling a green mountain bike out of the warehouse.
Cathy Tyler was at the event picking up bikes for her two sons and daughter.
“I’m a single mom of three kids and it’s hard right now. They’ve had bikes before, but they’ve outgrown them. Any help I can get right now is great,” she said.
Brandon Hawkins was at the event with his mother looking to get a new bike after his was stolen earlier this year.
“He didn’t have a bike all throughout the summer and his friends did. He felt left out. It’s pretty exciting for him to get one again,” said Brandon’s mother, Brandy Larson.
Marty Williams works with the inmates at Stafford Creek. They put new tires on the bikes, paint them and do whatever else needs to be done so they look like new when they leave the prison shop.
Williams said there are a handful of inmates who work on bikes for the program. The prisoners have to go through an interview process before being able to work in the shop.
“They know where the bikes are going and they take a lot of pride in them. When those bikes leave, they’re really nice,” said Williams.
Andrea Resendez is the Family Services Coordinator at the Salvation Army and handles applications submitted by families interested in participating in the program.
“I think it’s a really good program. For a lot of kids and families it’s a staple to have a bike. For some families, it’s a real struggle to get one, especially when they have multiple children. These bikes are just wonderfully made,” said Resendez.
Erica Nauta was at the Seaport on Saturday with her four kids. Nauta and her children recently moved to Aberdeen from Guam and had to sell many personal items in order to make the move.
“We sold everything and are starting from the bottom up. This is the first time we’ve been here (at the event) and we really enjoy it. We don’t have this where we come from. It’s a blessing,” said Nauta.
There were more requests than bikes at Saturday’s giveaway, forcing the bikes to be given away on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Lions Club member Al Waters said, however, that bikes will continue to be collected throughout the year and given to every family who is signed up to receive one.
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