BOULDER, CO— Through a partnership with PeopleForBikes, member businesses of The Bike Cooperative have donated more than $13,000 that will enable youth from across the U.S. to attend the 2021 Youth Bike Summit. These funds will provide mini-grants for nonprofit community cycling organizations identified by PeopleForBikes and the Youth Bike Summit National Steering Committee to support youth cycling groups to participate in the Youth Bike Summit Justice Journey, which will start in fall of 2020 and conclude at the national Youth Bike Summit in the fall of 2021 in Atlanta.
“As a co-op of local bike retailers, community is critical to us,” said Lindsay Gaskins, president of The Bike Cooperative. “Bikes empower kids from communities across the country to experience things that might not have been possible without a set of wheels, and our members are excited to make that happen for more kids.”
Bike Cooperative members noted the importance of bicycle retailers in promoting advocacy efforts and engaging their communities through bicycling. "We feel that it is incumbent upon us brick and mortar retailers as pillars of the cycling community to support advocacy efforts of all types geared towards inclusivity and supporting efforts to groom the next generation of cyclists,” said Nik Obriecht, general manager of Race Pace Bicycles in Baltimore. “Partnering with The Bike Cooperative and PeopleForBikes in these efforts is a win for everyone.”
“We are happy to support the Youth Bike Summit by donating our buydown refund,” added John McConnochie, owner of Cycle Alaska in Juneau. “We feel the Summit provides a great venue to engage the next generation of bicycling enthusiasts.”
Youth cycling groups will use the sponsorship funds to support their virtual or in-person Justice Journey event, where they will ride bikes in their communities to raise awareness and funds for accommodation and transportation to the Youth Bike Summit. Once at the Summit, youth participants will meet with educators, researchers, policy makers, community leaders and advocates from across the U.S. for workshops, tours, presentations, discussions and visioning, in addition to bike riding. The Youth Bike Summit’s mission is to educate and get local youth equipped to promote bike advocacy and ridership within their own communities.
“Planning for a better future also means focusing on getting more kids on bikes,” said PeopleForBikes President and CEO Jenn Dice. “It doesn’t take much to help them develop bicycling as a lifelong hobby and passion.”
The Bike Cooperative and PeopleForBikes plan to continue partnering on initiatives that impact local communities through bikes in the future.
Participating Bike Cooperative members include:
- ACTION WHEELS, Wenonah, NJ
- ARCADIAN SHOP, Lenox, MA
- ASHEVILLE BICYCLE CO, Asheville, NC
- BEACON CYCLING, Northfield, NJ
- BELMONT WHEELWORKS, Belmont, MA
- BIKE THERAPY, Morgan Hill, CA
- CENTRIPEDAL BIKES, Fremont, CA
- CHAINWHEEL DRIVE, Clearwater, FL
- CONTENDER BICYCLES, Salt Lake City, UT
- CYCLE ALASKA, Juneau, AK
- CYCLETHERAPY, Waterford, MI
- EDEN BICYCLES, Castro Valley, CA
- GORHAM BIKE AND SKI, Portland, ME
- INDY CYCLE SPECIALIST, Indianapolis, IN
- KOZY'S CYCLERY, Chicago, IL
- MOTION MAKERS, Asheville, NC
- OLD TOWN BICYCLE, Gig Harbor, WA
- ORANGE CYCLE, Orlando, FL
- PEAK SPORTS, Corvallis, CA
- PURE RIDE CYCLES, Lake Forest, CA
- RACE PACE BICYCLES, Baltimore, MD
- RIDE-A-BIKE BICYCLE SHOP, Gastonia, NC
- SALEM CYCLE, Salem, MA
- SANTOS BIKE SHOP, Ocala, FL
- SAUCON VALLEY BIKES, Hellertown, PA
- SPOKES ETC, Arlington, VA
- SUMMIT CITY BICYCLES, Fort Wayne, IN
- THE BICYCLE PLANET, Syosset, NY
- THE BIKE SURGEON INC, O’Fallon, IL
- THE SKI RACK, Burlington, VT
- TWO WHEELS ONE PLANET, Costa Mesa, CA
- UC CYCLERY, La Jolla, CA
- WHEEL SPORT, Spokane, WA
- YORKTOWN CYCLES, Yorktown Heights, NY
