Kids' Wheels program continues to grow

by MATT HUGHES

J-E News Editor

After less than a year in operation, a local charity called ‘Kids’ Wheels’ has really begun to make a difference in the lives of local young people by putting them on their very own bicycle.

When Providence native Ronnie Hill spoke with The J-E in April the organization, which he helped to start, had given away five bicycles, which amounted to one bike per month for five months. His plan was to be able to give away two bikes per month this summer.

Hill’s plans didn’t really work out the way he had intended. According to Chip Palmer, director of the Providence Food Bank, which houses the program, instead of working their way up to two bikes, last month Kids’ Wheels gave away eight bikes. And Palmer says there are forty bikes in storage ready to be given away.

The bikes are given away by a random drawing done at the Food Bank, but Hill said he wanted people to know that it is not only open to customers of the food bank. Anyone interested in registering to receive a child’s bike can sign-up at the Providence Food Bank on US 41A. They can also call Palmer at 270-836-5521.

The bicycles that the program gives away are donations. Some come from private individuals, while others are donated by local businesses.

After bikes are received, Hill takes them back to his shop, where he rebuilds each of them.

“I’ve even started telling kids that if they outgrow a bike, they can bring it back and exchange it for another,” said Palmer.