TROY, Mich. – Our June Go 4 It event is a Wheelie Good Cause. Local 4 is teaming up with Free Bikes 4 Kidz, MI-Cycle, and Back Alley Bikes to collect used and new bikes for both children and adults.
Bikes can be dropped off at Oakland Mall on June 10 from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The mall is located at 412 W. 14 Mile Road in Troy, and we will be set up in the old Macy’s parking lot.
The bikes will be cleaned, repaired, and given to those who need them most.
All three agencies say they take bikes in all conditions because they can use parts from bikes to rebuild and fix other bicycles.
There will be no bike giveaways during this event. We are, however, accepting donations of bikes to be distributed later by our partners in conjunction with this event.
These organizations collaborate with community organizations, including churches, schools, and neighborhood groups, to distribute the bikes they receive and repair them.
There is an application process.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz began in 2018 and has given away over 10,000 bikes in the Metro Detroit community.
The nonprofit is geared toward helping all kids ride into a happier, healthier childhood by providing bikes to those most in need.
FB4K has hundreds of volunteers help clean and repair the bikes over a 10-week period in the fall.
About 20% of its bikes are then given away, each with a new helmet, just before the holidays at an event in the FB4K warehouse in early to mid-December.
The remaining 80% are distributed in bulk the following week or two, as organizations rent trucks to pick them up from our warehouse and give them away at their locations.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz collaborates with community groups and organizations, including churches, schools, and local neighborhood groups, to distribute bikes.
Community groups can click here to apply to be a ‘Partner Organization’ with FB4K.
Back Alley Bikes is a nonprofit bike workshop where volunteers work with community members to repair and recycle used bikes.
It has served Detroit since 1999. Its mission is to provide cycling education and services with a focus on youth and adult education, sustainable practices, and community access.
Back Alley Bikes donates hundreds of repaired bikes a year, and we have operated The Hub of Detroit, a full-service bike shop in the Cass Corridor, since 2008.
Click here for more information.
Say Detroit launched MI-Cycle after the pandemic exposed a number of inequalities, including access to transportation.
Mi-Cycle’s goal is to address this major challenge for underserved communities, pursue a green approach, and dispel the myths about who is and who isn’t interested in cycling culture and building bicycle-friendly cities.
Mi-Cycle accepts used and formerly loved bicycles, rehabs them, and then provides bicycles to children and adults without access.
As with many of SAY Detroit’s efforts, the approach is multi-pronged:
- Donors looking to give their old bicycles a new life for someone else can drop them off at designated locations and times during collection events.
- Donors who want to expand the cycling world to more people in Detroit will be able to “sponsor” the rehabilitation and donation of bicycles to future riders in underserved communities.
- The repair shop at Marygrove Conservancy offers employment and training opportunities for Detroit residents.
- Underserved citizens in need of bicycles will receive them!