Have a bicycle leaning against the shed or perhaps an outgrown bike with training wheels?

This April, the Murray Education Foundation will be collecting used bikes, which will then be donated to the Bicycle Collective, which refurbishes bicycles and provides educational programs for the community focusing on children and lower income households.

As part of the partnership, the Foundation can take part in the Collective’s referral program.

“They have a referral program so we can refer some kids who need bikes to them, and they can get their bike donated,” said Doug Perry, Foundation executive director. “We have a little over 100 secondary kids who live just inside the bus routes so they don’t qualify for bussing so they walk and in the winter months, when it’s cold and not snowy, they could ride a bike. Maybe that gets them to school a little quicker.”

Along with collecting bikes, Perry said the Foundation also will accept monetary donations to purchase students’ helmets and bike locks. Additional details can be found on the websites of the Murray Education Foundation, murrayeducationfoundation.org, and the Murray School District, www.murrayschools.org.

Perry added students can learn how to repair their bikes at the Bicycle Collective.

“They can show how to replace the tires and fix the gears and those kinds of things,” Perry said, adding his vision for the future: “I envision working with them to offer a bike repair workshop here as part of our afterschool activities.” λ