ANNUAL KIDS BIKE LANE BIG BIKE BUILD
Twas the first Saturday in December,
And all through the grounds,
The only thing to be heard,
Were bike building sounds…
This year, as they have for the past 6 years, The Alameda County Fairgrounds has donated a location for the Annual Kids Bike Lane Big Bike Build where over 200 volunteers will spend their day off assembling 800 bikes to ensure that kids in Alameda and Contra Costa counties will have a brand new bike under the Christmas tree.
Every year, Kids Bike Lane raises money to purchase bikes, which then are assembled and donated to charities serving kids in our communities.
This year, due to the generous donations of several corporate donors, many, many individuals and more than a few grants, we’ve been able to raise over $80,000.00 to purchase the 800 bikes and helmets that will be given out.
Thankfully, with the Alameda County Fairgrounds donating the use of several buildings, Kids Bike Lane won’t have to spend any of the money raised on renting a venue for storing and assembling the bikes so every dollar raised goes directly to funding the purchase of bikes and helmets.
The work begins Friday afternoon with the layout of the buildings for teams, quality control, charity bike pickup, bike staging and lunch.
Early on Saturday morning the volunteers begin arriving, finding their spots and at 9:00am when the bell rings, the work begins.
Usually, by 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, we’re loading up the last of the charity trucks and heading out for some well-deserved rest and relaxation before we begin the fund raising all over again for next year’s event.
