BUCKHANNON – A new local nonprofit is helping to provide bicycles to children in the Upshur County area.
Julia Kastner, founder and executive director of Ride and Shine Bikes for Upshur Kids, said she wanted to help children experience receiving and riding their first bike, despite financial situations.
“Every kid deserves the experience that many of us consider a universal experience of being a kid: biking around the neighborhood,” Kastner said. “This is to provide kids in Upshur County who have financial barriers with bicycles, along with a helmet and a bike lock, which is what we consider your most basic equipment.”
The nonprofit was formed in November, and Kastner was able to provide eight bikes to children for Christmas.
“I was visiting an old friend and mentor of mine in Houston, Texas, a city of 7 million people, and he gives away 800, 900, 1,000 bikes a year there, so he was one of the people I reached out to early to talk to about this project,” Kastner said. “He told me he would give me as many bikes as I could haul. I brought home eight bikes he donated, and some friends of mine helped me with getting some low-key, small-scale parts we needed to fix those up. We got helmets and bike locks, and we gave away eight bikes as Christmas presents with an outlay of about $300.”
Kastner is organizing another bike giveaway that will take place on June 13 at the Upshur County Recreation Park, near the biking trails. Families must fill out an application to receive a bike, which can be done at the Mountain CAP WV office at 30 E. Main Street, Buckhannon, or by phone at (304) 878-1115.
“We did get our national nonprofit status, so we are a 501(c)(3). We take tax-deductible donations, and we make tax-free purchases. We’ve been fundraising and identifying kids and families,” Kastner said. “I have ordered the bicycles, so we’re waiting on bikes to come in to get helmets and locks and get the bicycles built for them.”
Kastner will have 20 to 25 bikes available for the June event, and they are still taking applications.
“We get our bikes from two sources. One is Norco Bicycles. They are a Canadian bike company, and their local, regional sales rep is a friend of mine, and through him, I submitted a sponsorship proposal, and Norco agreed to sell me bikes at an outstanding rate,” Kastner said. “Those Norco bikes are going to Pike Street Bikes in Shinnston, and we appreciate Pike Street Bikes for receiving that shipment and maybe helping us with the build of the bikes.”
The second source of the bicycles will come from Joey’s Bike Shop in Elkins.
“He has cut us a similarly outstanding deal on some track bicycles, and he will also be helping to build some of those,” Kastner said. “Joey is also going to sell us bike helmets and locks at a discount; he helped us out with those bikes at Christmas. Joey is a huge supporter of everything that we do in this area.”
The event in June is meant for Upshur County children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
“I am still taking applications, but we are getting close to the numbers. This is a new project, fresh off the ground, and I’ve started with Upshur County residents, and age-wise, this is K-5, but I would love for those to be able to grow, or just for the number to be able to grow,” Kastner said. “We’re doing the event in June this one time, and we’re going to learn from it, and then who knows? Next year, or maybe even later this year, if it goes well enough, and if there’s funding, I would certainly keep applications past what I can do this year.”
Kastner has reached out to grant opportunities and has received individual donations from members of the community to purchase the equipment and bicycles. Donations can be made to Ride and Shine via the Tucker Community Foundation website.
“I’ve always been a bike person, and I’ve worked with and recreated with bikes all my life in lots of different ways. My own race career is no longer on the upswing. I’m just watching the younger people around me, and I have spent the last couple of years working for a trail builder,” Kastner said. “I’m definitely still excited about building trails, but I was thinking about this unmet need. We need to build trails — we need to get kids, and all people access to trails — but they also need the bicycles to fully enjoy the trails.”
Updates about the new nonprofit can be found on their Facebook page.
