Free bikes for the holidays for children in Kentucky and Indiana

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The passion and drive for giving during the holiday season is bringing back a slight feeling of normalcy to the end of 2020.

A local bike drive returns to Kentucky and Indiana to gear up for thousands of children. Groups will be working all through this month to assemble every bike that will go to children within our community.

Bikes or Bust is made possible several WAVE Country businesses and organizations. Organizers said thousands of children are more in need this year than last year because of all the struggles that came in 2020.

The United Auto Workers in Louisville started building bikes with Academy Sports. Last year, Bikes or Bust collected more than 2,000 bikes donated and assembled with love. Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, said there are too many children in need to set a limit on how much they can collect and give.

“We’re social distancing to maintain safeness we’re not going to distance ourselves from our community,” Dunn said. “We do that year after year, it really feels good knowing with the pandemic that we can help out even greater.”

In Louisville you can drop off donated bikes from November 19-23 at the UAW on Fern Valley Road. In Clarksville, the drop off location is the Coyle Chevrolet on Broadway Street. To donate, anyone can bring a bike, check, or cash to one of the locations at any time of the day during Bikes or Bust.

Town and Country Ford is donating a bicycle to the drive for every car they sell from November 1 to November 23.

Bikes donated in Louisville will go to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots and bikes donated in Southern Indiana will go to the Salvation Army of Southern Indiana. They will be distributed to families in need this Christmas hoping to make the ride a little easier into 2021.

For more information on how you can donate or receive a bike, click here.

Bikes or Bust is a partnership between Q103.1,Spa Builders of Kentucky, the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council, Metro United Way, UAW 862, Coyle Chevrolet, Academy Sports, and Eye Mart Family Vision Care.

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