Volunteers assemble bicycles at a Bikes for Kids build at Richmond Raceway this fall.
Andrew Mann remembers when he got his first bike.
“It was clear back to the 1960s. It was bright blue. It had the banana seat on it," Mann says. “I lived way out in the country. It was great, because I could ride over to my friend’s house.”
Because of his love of bikes — and his affection for seeing kids on bikes — Mann decided to lead a brigade of volunteers to build more than 500 bikes for kids every holiday season. Bikes for Kids is sponsored by the Richmond Area Bicycling Association, a group of cycling enthusiasts who organize rides, advocate for bike safety and volunteer.
“Those kids wake up Christmas morning to a brand-new bike and a brand-new helmet, and it’s from Santa Claus,” Mann says. He’s been part of the process for 15 years.
Some of the bikes are donated to schools in Richmond and Chesterfield and Hanover counties as well as select community nonprofits, but most are distributed through the region’s Christmas Mother programs. “The Christmas Mothers coordinate with the families on the actual pickup. Somebody comes by, grabs a bike, hides it in a closet,” Mann explains.
First, though, all those bikes need to be assembled.
The first bike build took place on a breezy, not-quite-fall-weather day in mid-October. Multiple teams of builders huddled around folding tables in the back parking lot of Ruggles Service Corporation on Dickens Road, where Mann works, with roughly 100 bikes in various stages of assembly.
“A majority of these folks are volunteers with the Fore Foundation and with the Virginia Society of Association Executives,” Mann says. “They provide us with funds and volunteers.” RABA members are also involved in every step of the project.
Rick Eisenman and a partner are tightening bolts on a bright yellow bike. “I’m a pro by the time we finish, but a year later when we come back, I have to read the instructions again,” Eisenman says.
Eisenman started the Fore Foundation a decade ago to support nonprofit organizations with funding and volunteers. “I’ve had a very blessed life and wanted to use my connections to help,” he says. “The biggest thing we do is bikes, but we’re also partnered with Comfort Zone Camp, which helps bereaved children that have lost siblings, parents.”
In addition to providing volunteers to assemble bikes, the Fore Foundation is one of several organizations that raise money for the project. “We do a big fundraiser every August to buy the bikes,” Eisenman says. “Every nickel we raise goes towards the end user. There’s no administrative cost, there’s no fees … nothing. And then we also put our words into action and put the bikes together.”
To Eisenman, the joy of giving makes building bikes worth the effort. “It definitely makes you feel good,” he says. “Having a bike is freedom. And, unfortunately, there’s a lot of kids that don’t have them.”
Some of the hundreds of bikes assembled during the Richmond Raceway build
At a second build, Mann says, volunteers assemble another 100 bikes, and at the final event at Richmond Raceway, about 100 volunteers build 450 bikes. From there, most bikes head to the Christmas Mothers in areas including Louisa, New Kent, Powhatan, Goochland and Cumberland counties.
The Christmas Mother tradition started in 1935 as the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund. Today the nonprofit, run by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, continues to help families during the holiday season.
One Christmas Mother is Tim Kennel.
“I was elected as the Cumberland County Christmas Mother about four years ago,” Kennel says. “My wife, Deborah, who is now deceased, was the Christmas Mother for years. In fact, she was one of the initial folks who got the Cumberland Christmas Mother started, and she was well loved in the community.”
After his wife died, the Christmas Mother duties fell to him, Kennel says, which suits him just fine. “I’ve always been active in the community, and I [was] a 35-year-Cumberland resident up until last July,” he adds. “Bylaws require the Mother to be reelected each season, and the ladies keep putting me in. It’s terrific.”
In the years he’s served as Christmas Mother, Kennel says, watching people pick up bikes has been a highlight of the season. “We’ve had people breaking down crying. They cannot believe that we were able to provide them with a bicycle and the other gifts,” he says. “Weve had phone calls and beautiful letters thanking us for the bicycle.”
Mary Shaia is a past Henrico County Christmas Mother. She says families get more than just bikes. “When families come in, they’re getting food, they’re getting clothing, books, toys and grocery gift cards as well.”
The Henrico group expects to help more than 1,500 families this year, Shaia says. “Sometimes there are tears of happiness, which is great,” she says. “We all think about these kids on Christmas morning, about how many kids are riding their bicycles for the first time, and that’s really special.”
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