About Bikes4Kids

By Ed Nieman

The repair and gifting of bikes began with the Kiwanis organization. After several years of Coon Rapids Kiwanis members repairing bikes in a garage for a Christmas give-a-way to Toys for Joy of the Christmas Committee at the Anoka County Armory, it was decided to form a separate organization.

Bikes4Kids began with a meeting on April 20, 2011 at the Red Ox Café in Ham Lake convened by Al Sannerud. Present were nine present and former Kiwanis members. These were avid bikers and/or avid supporters of non-profits and people in need.

170 bikes had been received from Micheal’s Bikes of St. Paul and put on Al’s farm. The original mission statement was “Bob Burbach’s Bikes for Kids collects and refurbishes used bicycles to redistribute to needy people.” The official name recorded with the state as a 501 © (3) non-profit organization was Robert and Wilma Burbach Bike Foundation of MN, Inc. Bob had been an avid biker and had collected bikes and sent them overseas to CEBU, Philippines.

The purpose of Bikes4Kids included that each bike is repaired, inspected, and given away with a helmet, lock, and safety instructions. The recipients are selected by county social services and other institutions.

Early on Trailhead Bike Shop became a partner by providing training, tools, and donating bikes. Later Pioneer and Ramsey bike shops also donated bikes. Recycle Centers, police departments, and individuals have become sources of bike donations.

Shop space began in Al’s horse barn and has expanded into his cow barn. Workdays began as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 9:00-12:00 but have expanded to everyday of the week and into afternoon and some evening hours.

The first give-a-way of repaired bikes was in December of 2011 with 116 bikes to the Christmas Committee at the Anoka Armory, 29 bikes to Faith Lutheran Church Giving Tree, 75 bikes to North Anoka County, and 9 bikes to Free-To-Be. In January of 2012 the need began to expand from children’s bikes to adult bikes. 10 adult bikes were needed at the Red Owl building, YMCA, and District 11. The 2012 goal of 200 bikes to be given away per year was set. In 2013 the Christmas give-a-ways totaled 126 bikes and the total give-a-ways for the year was 309 bikes. In 2014 bikes donated to us totaled 1463 and bikes repaired totaled 409 and 330 bikes were given or sold to other organizations.

In 2015 there were 2198 bikes donated to us with 513 repaired and 558 delivered and 1500 donated to other organizations. In 2016 there were 2,367 bikes donated to us with 667 repaired and delivered and 984 donated un-repaired. In 2017 there were 2,400 bikes donated to us and 1,018 repaired and delivered. We celebrated reaching the 1,000 bike mark with an event in the Shop on December 27th. In 2018 there were 4,205 bikes donated to us with 1,203 repaired and 1,141 delivered. Our budget has increased from $3,786 income and $2,871 expenses in 2012 to $90,421.07 income and $77,112.27 expenses in 2018. In 2016 a 5 year plan was begun to work on a goal of moving off the Sannerud farm.

This article was published in B4K Newsletter, March/April 2019