LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. — The Lebanon Bicycle Recycle has been able to collect over 100 bikes so far and they say they continue to receive bikes weekly. They say the outpouring of support has been mostly positive.
The Lebanon Valley Bike Coalition created the Lebanon Bicycle Recycle in collaboration with the Penn State College of Medicine Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Project (REACH).
“Our research indicated that cycling was of physical activity of interest in Lebanon County and really the disconnect was the need for bikes," Laurie Crawford, with the Penn State College of Medicine REACH project said.
Lebanon Bicycle Recycle officially launched in November 2021. The group works to repair, collect, and distribute bikes through a work-share program, offering assistance and resources for bike safety so everyone can ride bikes in Lebanon County.
“Our ultimate goal is to make this a household name, and promote healthy living through cycling, which is a great form of exercise," Ron Birch, from the Lebanon Valley Bike Coalition said.
Organizers say they’d like to focus on giving out these bikes to the youth, but they say they have plenty of adult bikes they could give out as well.
“We really could benefit anyone who is interested in a bike," Crawford said.
They don’t have a set requirement on who can receive a bike, it really depends on someone’s interest and time.
“But we would like them to participate in our organization a little bit, kind of like earn a bike, where they would put in maybe a few hours of fixing their bike or fixing other bikes for the program," Crawford said.
Organizers say this project is ultimately a community project.
“We envision that the community will come and should there be people who have the gift of fixing bikes, they can come and volunteer their time and fix the bikes," Crawford explained. "We like working with the schools, and working with the parents, and working with the churches and other cycling organizations, so we really wanted to be an inclusive place where everyone comes."