A prominent London charity that has helped thousands of people get on two wheels for over a decade is urgently seeking a new home.
The Big Bike Giveaway, founded by Monica and Shayne Hodgson, has repaired and donated more than 4,400 bicycles to residents across the city since 2014.
The program provides free bikes to newcomers, low-income families, students and seniors. Volunteers repair the bicycles before they’re distributed to those who rely on them for work, school or appointments.
“Usually, we’d open up in June, and you can fill out a form, put your name online,” said co-founder Shayne Hodgson. “Then we go by first-come, first-served by size because we only have a limited number of each size and type of bike available. We really, really like to help all people.”
Big Bike Giveaway (Daniel Monroy – XFM News)
The group’s operations have come to a halt after losing its indoor storage and repair facility, leaving the program’s future uncertain.
“The issue we’re having right now is that we just lost our place where we used to store and repair the bikes,” Hodgson said. “We had to decrease the bikes. We didn’t have time to give them all away or find a place for them, so we had to scrap some and kept all the ones we finished.”
In previous years, the charity has distributed as many as 700 bikes in a single season.
The Big Bike Giveaway is now seeking a secure indoor facility of about 10,000 square feet that can be used for both storage and repairs.
Anyone able to offer space, make a donation or support the program can visit bigbikegiveaway.ca for more information.
Big Bike Giveaway (Daniel Monroy – XFM News)
