MILTON, Ga. — More than 100 volunteers, working with Bike Alpharetta and North Fulton Community Charities, assembled and repaired hundreds of bikes collected since September to be distributed to kids in need for Christmas.
For 14 years, North Fulton Community Charities has benefited from Domestique Day – the culmination of Bike Alpharetta’s “Bikes for Kids” program.
Held at the Milton City Park and Preserve Dec. 9, volunteers served as domestiques — meaning “helpers” in French — to provide Santa-ready bikes to kids through North Fulton Community Charities’ Toyland Shop. “Domestique” is a word often used in pro cycling, referring to the team members who work to support the team leader.
Elves, both children and adults, arrived at 8 a.m. sharp and stayed busy at their stations preparing nearly 530 bikes. Accompanying the bikes were 325 new helmets and another 75 that were donated.
One room in the Community Center was dedicated to assembling new, snap-together bikes. After donated bikes were power washed outside, they were wheeled to the basement for detailing, then another room where they were repaired by mechanics and later inspected.
Jackie Tyson, founder of Bike Alpharetta, said bikes that were too rusty to be salvaged would later be recycled.
“We’ve made a huge effort in the past four or five years [to] not put any metal or rubber in a landfill,” Tyson said.
Bikes For Kids was started in 2007 by the Mullenbach family, who had collected 65 bikes in their Johns Creek neighborhood. Since then, Bikes For Kids has provided more than 4,700 bicycles and tricycles as well as nearly 1,900 new youth helmets all free of charge to North Fulton Community Charities.
Due to rising costs in food, rent and other essentials this year, NFCC Community Events Manager Janet Dahlstrom said the nonprofit has seen a 20-to-30 percent…
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