The volunteers at the Lincoln Bike Kitchen have a simple Christmas wish this year.
They’re looking for more than a few good bicycles — kids bikes mostly, but adult hybrids, too — that they can refurbish and donate.
The nonprofit has partnered with the Nebraska Recycling Council to launch Recycle a Cycle for the Holidays, an effort to give two-wheeled gifts to about 50 kids next month.
“We’re asking people to give us pretty good bikes, not new ones,†board member Clayton Streich said. “We’ll get a stash of bikes to give away.â€
The Bike Kitchen tried a similar project last year, but they got a late start and only distributed about 15 bikes for Christmas, Streich said. They made it more formal this year, and will launch their drive Nov. 15 — National Recycling Day.
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The nonprofit at 1635 S. First St. will be open that evening to collect bikes. Donors can also drop off bicycles during the Bike Kitchen’s normal hours: noon to 4 p.m. Sundays and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays.
The bikes don’t have to be perfect, but they shouldn’t need too much work, Streich said.
The Bike Kitchen will donate the refurbished bicycles directly to children 13 and younger, and will also work with schools and organizations to distribute the gifts.
So far this year, the Bike Kitchen has given away more than 350 bikes and volunteers have performed about 400 free repairs.