Rose Garden Resident

Community

Hundreds of volunteers join local bike build for children

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

One of the most enduring childhood memories is of one's first bike. This holiday, approximately 600 volunteers from around San Jose made that dream a reality for more than 1,800 local youth during the third annual Bike Build for Turning Wheels for Kids, a daylong event dedicated to assembling bicycles earmarked for low-income and at-risk children.

"This is really a community-driven event," says Sue Runsvold, founder of the nonprofit group Turning Wheels for Kids that is responsible for raising funds for the bikes as well as organizing volunteers to assemble and distribute them to local charities that already have lists of children in need of bikes.

"Last year, most of those at the Bike Build were bike groups. All of a sudden, it was like whoosh! They were all here [again this year], but brought along more people to help."

Volunteers from all walks of life, including doctors, bicycle club members and members of the Santa Clara Fire Department, came together to build 1,800 bicycles from the ground up.

Teacher Spencer Bruce from Willow Glen decided to use the event as a means to continue his class's curriculum and brought a team of eight students to the event.

"It teaches the kids pride and self-reliance and gives them a sense of empathy," Bruce says. "It helps them realize that other families don't have Christmas like they do."

Bruce teaches 10-week after-school classes that focus on apprenticeship through Citizen Schools in Campbell.

"This event served as a culminating activity for them," he says. "They learned to build bikes throughout the semester and were able to use what they learned on these bikes."

Dan Meester, a college counselor and assistant varsity boys basketball coach for Valley Christian High School, also used the event as a teaching experience.

"It was a good avenue that would not only help our guys bond together as a team but also give them a bigger perspective on things," Meester says.

The Cambrian area resident brought a group of 12 players and three coaches to the event and provided the muscle and cleanup for the Bike Build.

"These types of activities instill a sense of desire in the boys to later continue helping their community," he says.

Another group of athletes saw the event an opportunity to give back to the community.

A group of 15 women from the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative were among those who helped build bikes.

"Our focus is to mobilize women athletes to help kids," says co-founder and Rose Garden resident Marlene Bjornsrud. "Anytime you personalize a gift, there's more power to what you're doing."

Although the group did not have experience in building or maintaining bikes, they did facilitate the assembly by transporting materials from station to station.

"I look at a bike itself as being a tangible expression of something a community can give to change a child's life," Bjornsrud says.

Another sports group used the opportunity to show its appreciation for all the help it has received from the community.

Stacy Busch of Almaden Valley brought her son DJ and his ice hockey team, the Black Hawks, to assemble bikes. Busch said the team has received so much support from the community through various fundraisers, it seemed only appropriate that the team pass on the giving.

"They can relate to this event," Busch says. "It's all about kids and bikes. And what boy doesn't like bikes?"

Along with the volunteers, organizations and local businesses pitched in, including Monsieur Beans of Willow Glen, which donated the coffee for the event.

The San Jose Convention Center South Hall, where the event took place, was also donated to the organization for the day.

This year's bikes went to 12 local organizations including the San Jose Family Shelter and Sacred Heart Community Services.

Since its establishment, the group has provided thousands of bicycles to children in the Santa Clara County. Ninety percent of the bicycles go to children in San Jose.

For more information on Turning Wheels for Kids, visit www.turningwheelsforkids.org or call 408.885.5203.