Mission Statement
Bikes for Kids Wisconsin is powered by our love of cycling, our community, and our planet. We increase the use of bicycle-based transportation for everyone through access, low-cost repairs, and education.
Our Vision
We’re a community making bicycling sustainable, equitable, and affordable for everyday transportation; where human-powered transportation is prioritized and betters all residents’ lives physically, emotionally, and economically.
How We’re Living Out Our Mission Statement:
Community: We are building an inclusive, equitable, and diverse community where all people are treated with dignity and mutual respect.
Accessibility: We offer everyone the opportunity to ride and we support access to cycling for everybody.
Sustainability: We create a sustainable environment by riding, recycling, repairing, and refurbishing bicycles.
Education: We are teaching our community about bicycle care and repair.
Our Staff
Ryan Harvey
Operations Manager
Kristie GoForth
Executive Director
Board of Directors
William Rizzo – Interim Board Chair
Mandy Ayers – Vice Chair
Mike Ivey – Treasurer
Vacant – Secretary
Colleen Hayes
Baltazar De Anda Santana
Awais Khaleel
Andrew Litt
Nicole Schram
Chauncey Hunker
Jeremy Moser
OUR ARRAY OF PROGRAMMING
- Annual Bike Giveaway Program – Providing bikes to those facing transportation barriers for Economic Mobility.
- Bike Mechanics After School Program in partnership with MSCR – Workforce development training for middle school youth.
- Bike to Work Program – Focusing on immigrant workers and new refugees with transportation barriers to employment.
- Bike Fleet Services – Providing bike maintenance and repair services to schools and community centers with fleets of bikes at a low cost.
- Corporate Team Building Volunteer Days – Groups of 6-12 people spend three hours in the bike center refurbishing bikes.
- Low-cost Bike Sales and Repairs for the Public – We provide bikes that have been fully refurbished and tuned up for sale at a low cost to keep bicycle-based transportation accessible. When you buy a bike from us, you are supporting another individual or two who cannot afford to purchase a bike. When you hire us to service your bike, you are helping support and sustain our operations.
- Community Bike Disposal Services – Because of our commitment to sustainability, we accept bikes that cannot be saved as a way to prevent them from going into the landfill. We see that they are sustainably recycled.
OUR STORY
It’s a simple concept: you’ve got bikes you no longer need. We know people who need them. Bikes for Kids supports access to transportation through free bicycles provided to marginalized communities. Through our robust partnership with other 501c3 nonprofits and public schools, we ensure that our bikes go to those most in need.
We’re striving towards transportation equity and deepening meaningful relationships with communities of color and low income populations in Dane County and beyond. As an added bonus, we keep thousands of bikes out of the landfill by repurposing them into rideable bikes.
We’ve now given away over 12,615 bikes to new bike owners who may have never had the opportunity to experience the joys of owning their own bike. Since we give bikes to other nonprofits and schools, this includes 215 organizations that have received millions dollars in free bikes through our program.
Our operation depends on grants, financial donations from individuals and corporations, and donations of gently used bikes that are no longer needed.
It costs about $120 for us to give a bike away. The $120 in costs includes expenditures like bike parts, tools & supplies, staff compensation, administrative costs, and overhead.
A LOOK AT OUR NUMBERS
2017 – 1,000 bikes to nonprofits and schools in Dane County
2018 – 1,100 bikes to nonprofits and schools in Dane County
2019 – 1,500 bikes to nonprofits and schools in Dane County
2020 – 1,000 bikes to kids and frontline workers working entry level positions
2021 – 2,021 bikes to nonprofits and schools in Dane County
2022 – 1,800+ bikes to nonprofits and schools in southern Wisconsin
2023 – 2,051 bikes to Dane County, Milwaukee County and Racine County
2024 – 2,518 bikes to Dane County, Milwaukee County, Wood County, several Indian Reservations, Marathon County, & counting!
12,600+ lives impacted since our first giveaway in 2017!
DONATE TO SUPPORT OUR MISSION
