Preston based cycling club, Preston Grasshoppers Rollers, has teamed up with local agencies to provide refurbished bikes to youngsters across Lancashire.
The initiative started after one of the club’s members identified a young person at the school where he taught was walking miles each day in all weathers as a bike was unaffordable for his mum.
Fellow club members pulled together, dug deep in their sheds and garages for donor bikes, pitched in with funds for repairs and a suitable bike was provided for the young man in question.
This struck a cord for the project coordinator Neil Ashton, who has previously worked alongside local authority children’s social care teams;
“I knew there were hundreds of families across Lancashire for whom getting bikes for their kids was a real struggle. It was also clear many of our club members had bikes gathering dust in their garages that, with a little care and attention, would be greatly appreciated by someone else. The trick was to match the right bike to the right family. So we made contact with Lancashire County Council Children’s Social Care and now have a great opportunity to help young people get active and mobile.”
The scheme is also helping out older teenagers who are leaving care and looking for transport to college or work.
Since the project started 18 months ago over 35 bikes have been provided to children and young people across Lancashire.
Neil added; “We hope this initiative can continue and is able to help as many young people as possible. Grasshoppers has always been a community focussed club and this kind of work really underpins the club’s values and ethos.”
