Bikes for All is a community driven program to help get more of our community on bikes.
Applications are now closed for the 2024 program. The program will resume in Sept 2025.
Since 2021 the Bikes for All program has been able to match over 250 members of our community with a bike! In 2024 our goal is to distribute 100 more bikes to individuals and families in our area that would benefit from having a bike. "Cycling is of the the simplest solution to our world's most complex problems." The Bikes for All program works to get bikes to those who need one in an effort to have a positive impact on the lives of our recipients.
Make a donation here to support this program and help make a positive impact on the lives of members of our community.
Nominations are open from Oct 1 - Dec 1 each year and we will do our best to match people with the correct size bike and get them out to recipients in time for the holidays. Our goal each year is to get 100 bikes to folks who would benefit from one.
With as many as 6000 young people in the Okanagan living in poverty, access to a bicycle is not possible for everyone. There are many reasons an individual or family may benefit from a bike - from improving the ability to get to work or just simply helping create more changes for kids to play, all reasons are valid. We are working with Smith Creek Cycle to do our small part in helping more people have access to the freedom and excitement that a bike can bring to a persons life.
How to Help: There are many ways to help: donate a bike, donate money, donate mechanic time, or nominate a recipient for a bike. See below for more details.
Donate a bike: If you have a bike sitting in your garage collecting dust or your child has grown out of their bike and you are not sure what to do with it, consider donating the bike. To donate your bike you can visit Smith Creek Cycle at 3310 Carrington Rd, West Kelowna during the open hours anytime from Oct 1 - November 30th. If you are based in Kelowna you can reach out to lukes@elevationoutdoors.ca to arrange a time to drop a bike off at the Elevation Outdoors office. We are seeking bikes that are 15 years old or newer, so please consider the bikes you are donating.
Donate your time: If you are a bike mechanic and are interested in donating some time to fix up bikes before they are given to the recipients please contact Brian at the shop as many hands makes for lighter work. We will likely have 4 evenings of bike tuning to get everything in good working order!
Donate funds: If you would like to donate to help purchase additional new bikes and components for donated bikes to be given away you can make a donation here. Smith Creek Cycle and Cyclepath Kelowna provide all the components we need at cost to ensure as many bikes as possible can be fixed up and given away. If you or your company would like to get involved please reach out and we will be happy to chat!
How to nominate someone: Nominations are now closed for 2024. Check back in Sept 2025. Our goal for 2025 is 100 bikes, and to make that happen we need that many amazing people to receive one. We keep the process simple, you can nominate your self, your own child, family member or the awesome kid down the street that could benefit from a bike. Nominations are open until Dec 1st, at which time we will start to match up applicants with bikes. We will work with Smith Creek Cycle to match up the donated bikes with the nominations to try and get the best fit for kids and bikes based on sizing and availability.
Please look at the photo's below for an example of the types of bikes we are giving away. In past years we have been able to provide bikes to people ranging from 2 year old and up.
Thanks to the Smith Creek Cycle team for being the driving force behind this great program.