Summary
Organization name
Golden Optimists Bicycle Recycle Program
2015
Tax id (EIN)
47-3324222
Category
Public & Societal Benefit
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
1200 Johnson RoadGolden, CO 80401
Jefferson County, CO, US
Bicycles Transform Lives
Your caring donation will help to TRANSFORM LIVES through the gift of a BICYCLE that will provide transportation, exercise, and joy to many people.
Your support can give
- Excitement for a child getting a sparkling bicycle for the holidays
- Transportation to a job for a person striving for recovery.
- Opportunities for three generations of a Navajo family to bike together.
- A beacon of hope for newly resettled refugees as they navigate a new home.
- Valuable exercise for an elderly person.
- A new life for an unwanted bicycle sustainably saved from a landfill.
- Sheer joy and freedom that bicycles provide to people of all ages
Testimonials
“It's hard to describe how excited and appreciative Moms/Dads, Grandparents, and Guardians are when they see the bikes! Most are brought to tears to think they can give that special child of theirs a bike for the holidays.” – Joan Osborne, Coordinator of the Miracle Shop, a project of the Rotary Club of Golden, is an annual holiday popup store in Golden, Colorado, where the Optimists donate dozens of bikes. This store allows financially struggling parents the ability to shop for quality toys at whatever each shopper decides what he/she can afford to pay.
“Thanks so much for providing AJ with a bike yesterday. He is really excited about his new purple ride :) He was telling me that he wants me to take him to Lair 'O the Bear next week so he can ride on the trail next to the river. I'm pretty sure that it will be his first "mountain" biking experience ever!
We are so grateful that you and all The Golden Optimists take the time and energy to make the difference in the lives of kids like AJ! He will now be able to get to/ from school in about 8 min instead of a 25 min walk or being driven by his grandparents. His grandma made sure that AJ carried his bike inside their home and parked it in the living room because she didn't want to risk it getting stolen. She also gave me a hug when I dropped him off with his bike; she was so extremely grateful!” -- Gratefully, Steffany, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteer. CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for best interests of children in the child welfare system.
"It has been an excellent partnership for us, providing so many clients over these past three years with bikes, helmets, and locks, and saving IRC staff time by making the deliveries and instructing clients on their use and rules of the road. At the Back to School Drive in July, children and their parents were eager to see and try out the bikes that had been donated for them." – Jennifer Perry, International Rescue Committee (IRC). The IRC of Denver helps people affected by humanitarian crises resettled here to survive, recover and rebuild their lives and the Optimists donate many bikes.
Mission
BIKES FOR PEOPLE WHO NEEED THEM. Our mission is to provide bikes for people who need them for transportation, exercise, and fun by repairing donated bicycles and making them available for re-use.
Background Statement
The Golden Optimists Bicycle Recycle program accepts used bicycle donations and repairs and repurposes some 500 bikes per year all with volunteers. Repaired bikes go back into the community - some are sold at affordable prices to get a wide variety of people riding with proceeds supporting the program. About 50% of repaired bikes are given away for free to people who truly cannot afford a bike through special programs. The free bikes are given to local kids (particularly Christmas programs), foster youth in the CASA program, people in a community on the Navajo Nation, newly settled refugees in the Denver area through the International Rescue Committee, and referrals for others in need. Helmets, locks, and other accessories are given away with many of the free bikes. Surplus unrepaired bikes are re-directed to other programs or their parts re-used or recycled.
The Golden Optimists Bicycle Recycle Program has been serving the community of greater Golden for some 35 years. It began with a few people who enjoyed bicycles and looked for ways for unwanted bicycles to be recycled. In 1994 it set up a shop in a quonset hut at Heritage Square in Golden and operated at that location for more than 20 years. In 2015 the organization established formal 501(c)3 status as a charitable organization. After Heritage Square closed in 2015 the shop found its new and current home at 1200 Johnson Road on the campus of Connections Learning Center, a Jeffco middle school. Over these years the Golden Optimists have put thousands bicycles back into use.
Media gallery
Organization Data
Golden, CO 80401