The Villages Bicycle Club conducted another successful bicycle collection as the club, partnering with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, saw many donated bicycles coming in Friday morning at the Lake Miona Recreation Center.
Event coordinator Ed Hankwitz said that last year’s collection yielded more than 200 bicycles. This year’s collection was about 100 bicycles more than last year.
Lt. Robert Siemer helped out by loading bicycles onto trailers, which were dispatched to distribute the bicycles for local adults and children.
As club members washed, repaired, and tested the bicycles, Betty Bosworth of the Village of Springdale and Joan Rockwell of the Village of Bonnybrook worked relentlessly behind the scenes, answering the phone to write down addresses of those who wanted to have their bicycles picked up.
“This has been wonderful,” said Bosworth.
Though most of the donated bicycles were in very good condition, there were some that appeared unusable. However, because no bicycle is wasted, all parts are always utilized.
The sheriff’s office, Hankwitz said, still collects junk bikes to transport them to the county jail. Inmates then work on the collected bikes to make brand new bicycles.
The donations ranged from adult bicycles to children’s bicycles
“Everyone has a story about their bike,” Anne Hankwitz said.
Donors included a woman who donated $100 as a token of appreciation for the free bicycle she received as a little girl from a bicycle drive. Each year, one couple donates two brand new bicycles to the club remembering their own childhoods when times were tight.
Anne Hankwitz said the donations warmed her heart.
