Three years ago, Susan Runsvold set out upon what has become quite an adventure. Her vision was to buy bikes at Christmas and give them to underprivileged children; children that she believed might otherwise not receive any present from Santa. She began what she hoped would be a tradition of collecting money from her friends and colleagues to purchase as many bikes as possible for holiday distribution.
Through the generosity of extraordinary, hardworking people, the effort has grown from an initial donation to the SJFD of 12 bikes in 2003 to 40 bikes in 2004. Believing that even more bikes can be collected and more children delighted, she asked a group of individuals who share her passion for the mission to join her in making dreams come true in July of 2005. That’s when TurningWheels was born. By the 2005 holiday season, these individuals were able to collect enough donations to purchase 452 bikes for the kids. Setting our goals even higher in 2006, TurningWheels purchased and with help from over 400 community volunteers, built 1030 bikes in little more than 3 hours last December! This year we have set a lofty goal of 1532 bikes, the total number of bikes given out in the last four years. By December this year, our goal is to have given over 3000 children the chance to enjoy the pleasure, freedom and independence that comes through the joy of riding a bicycle!
Please join us in making children's dreams come true.
Who doesn't remember their first bike? What's the magic? Why the intense universal desire to have your own bike? Is it the world beyond your own front yard discovered or perhaps it's because you get to go really fast, all on your own, controlled by only you? A bike is a rite of passage for a child and beyond the fun, the smile and the wind in your hair, a bike provides many things:
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