Realtor donating 50 bikes to sheriff’s program, encourages public to join effort

Posted by Danielle Lachenauer on May 9, 2019 12:00:00 AM

An Oakland County realtor is asking the public to join them in donating bikes to a program that helps local kids in need.

Dan Gutfreund Realty Group is providing 50 new bikes to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Re-CYCLE for Kids this year, and on May 18-19 will accept new or used bikes and bike accessories from the community for the program. The collection site will be the 1-800-Self-Storage.com moving truck that will be parked on Henrietta Street next to Shain Park in Birmingham from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. They can also be dropped off in advance at 1-800-Self-Storage.com locations in Oak Park and Troy.

“Studies show playing outside, and riding bikes leads to healthier, happier children,” said Dan Gutfreund. “As people are packing up to move this spring or doing their usual spring cleaning, we encourage them to keep an eye out for old bikes to donate to a child in the community that might not own or have access to a bike otherwise.”

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office began the Sheriff’s Re-CYCLE for Kids program in 2006 to provide refurbished bicycles to local children. Since then, hundreds of bikes have been donated, recycled and given to people in need. Supervised inmates from the Oakland County Jail’s trustee program provide labor to refurbish and repair the bicycles, which are then made available at no cost through a variety of non-profit organizations.