Pedal pushers: Program boosts Boys & Girls Club
Monday, July 06, 2009 - Story featured on NJ.com: View Article
By Alexandra Ward |
TRENTON -- Russ White coupled his interest in biking and his love for helping children to form a non-profit organization that incor porates one and benefits the other.
The Boys & Girls Club Bike Ex change is a used bicycle shop headquartered in the Capitol Plaza shopping center on Olden Avenue in Ewing. The Bike Exchange ac cepts donated bikes and recondi tions them to sell at affordable prices to area residents. All of the profits from bike sales go to the after-school program at the Boys & Girls Club of Trenton and Mercer County.
After retiring, White started working in a bike shop and realized the untapped market for used bikes.
"Many people came in and wanted to know what to do with old bikes and others came in to ask where they could buy used bikes," White said. "A lot of people have bikes in their basements or garages that they don't use anymore. They can recycle the stuff rather than trash it."
With a 6,000-square-foot retail space donated by Levin Management Corporation and 30 volunteers from the Princeton Freewheelers cycle club, White began the Bike Exchange about two months ago.
To date, the Bike Exchange has received about 500 bikes, sold 100 to 150 and raised $12,000 for the Boys & Girls Club, which has exceeded original expectations, according to White.
"(We charge) $25 to $30 for children's bikes and $50 to $80 for grownups," White said. "Every bike is in decent shape and the ones we can't salvage are used for parts."
David Anderson, executive di rector of the Boys & Girls Club, said the profits from the Bike Ex change help ease the impact of state budget cuts. An after-school program partner of the Boys & Girls Club called New Jersey After 3 lost about 30 percent of its funding. This would have resulted in about 100 kids a day being turned away from the Boys & Girls Club after-school program.
"We would have had to look a kid in the face and say 'we don't have money for you this year,' but this Bike Exchange is going to help us keep at least 50 of those 100 kids in our after-school program," An derson said.
In addition to helping the Boys & Girls Club, the Bike Exchange also advocates for environmentally friendly transportation and recy cling.
"People really like (the Bike Ex change) on a variety of levels," White said. "It's a tax deduction if they get a receipt, they can recycle their old bikes and it helps lower- income people get bikes at a low price."
Because the Capitol Plaza store is only open Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., there are also many drop-off areas around town where people can drop off used bikes for the Bike Exchange including other local bike shops and Fastsigns on Route 1.
White encourages anyone interested in helping the Bike Exchange to try running a bike drive.
"It's very easy to have a bike drive," he said. "There is no money required. Churches, schools and all other companies should consider doing a bike drive. It really is a great public service."
Staff from the Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange will accept used trikes, bicycles and bicycle ac cessories at the Lawrenceville Farmer's Market on Gordon Ave nue on July 12 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. For more information about the Boys & Girls Club Bike Ex change, go to www.bikeexchangenj.org/.
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