Any suggestions on the best way to give a child's bike away?

[LeftyMom]

LeftyKid's outgrown bike needs a new home now that he's getting a new one for Christmas. I'd like to give it to somebody who can't afford to give their child a bike rather than to somebody who just wants to save a few bucks. I don't know any families with kids the right size or I'd just do that.

Any thoughts on how to give it away?

[KitchenWitch]

1. Try freecycle!

or donate it to a thrift store.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. Just a note... some "thrift stores" only donate 5% of their

earnings to the charity they espouse. Always good to check their legitimacy.

Freecycle sounds like a winner!

[LeftyMom]

11. I quit our local freecycle list.

I gave away a ton of stuff but I was just getting so many emails and some of the people really seemed to think they were doing me a favor to take what was generally very nice stuff I simply didn't have time to sell, but the thing that finally got me to quit was that twice I gave things to people who laid tremendous sob stories on me, only to have it show up on ebay within days.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

16. Guess I need to do my homework with them

I assumed the "cycle" was in relation to bicycles. ermm :blush: :blush: Rescinding Freecycle advocacy vote until further notice. Thanks for the "heads up" LeftyMom.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Try this: Sacramento Children's Home kids' wishlist

http://www.kidshome.org/Donate/Wishlists/wishlist_residential.html


Maybe contact local bike shops that know of families/places/groups that take donated kid bikes.

[LeftyMom]

5. It looks like they're only looking for adult-sized bikes.

Thanks for linking though, LeftyKid has a few very nice outgrown coats they can use, and I have a few toys I've grabbed on the cheap at work I was hoping to donate someplace, I'll see if they can use them.

[chknltl]

3. Have kid take bike to the Goodwill.

Thus experiencing that "giving" feeling. (Can be done before or after new bike happens)

[LeftyMom]

8. we're going through his old toys

He understands that we have to get rid of the little kids toys to make room for new things. We do the same with clothes so he's used to it, although it was easier when we had a neighbor boy who got most of it, he'd see him wearing his old shirts and stuff and he'd be really happy about sharing. I think it's harder when it's some abstract stranger.

[Whoa_Nelly]

4. Also in Sac...

http://ourtown.sacbee.com/news.wsi?group_id=308&news_id=30

Sacramento Bicycle Kitchen
Address: 2837 36th Street
Hours: Wednesday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Web site: http://www.sacbikekitchen.org

Might be a good place to contact.

[LeftyMom]

6. I'll email them. They're in a rough neighborhood, they may know of a family that can use a starter

bike.

[Nicole]

9. Fire Dept. Toy for Tots

Our fire dept. collects toys & bikes year round. They fix them up like new.

A bonus is you get to ogle the cute firemen while they unload it. ;)

[Robeson]

10. Do you have any community centers around you in which you could post a note?...

...:shrug:

[LeftyMom]

12. I'm thinking about seeing if I can post a flyer at the daycare at my school.

I could ask at the neighborhood school, perhaps one of the head start families could use it.

[Whoa_Nelly]

13. Also read about St. Patrick's Home for Children in Sac

Maybe they could use a bike there for the kids to ride.

[Broken_Hero]

14. I think...

it was called Purple Heart? Its a thrift store in North Highlands, near Palm Avenue...they take all sorts of things, and its in a low income area as well...

[Porcupine]

15. Call the local "family shelter" or rehab.

Up here we have a shelter that is single mom's with kids. The kids frequently have lost all of their toys/stuff in evictions or movements. Working bikes are very welcome.

[radwriter0555]

17. Craigslist.org is great.

They localize to the area.

[LostinVA]

18. Call up the local St. Vincent de Paul society

They may know of a family like that.

[seemunkee]

19. Pedals for Progress

http://www.p4p.org/
They tune up the bikes and send them to third world countries where they get they need transportation
Not sure if they take little kids bikes.

[elehhhhna]

20. Ask the school nurse. They always know.

[Patiod]

21. Your DHS will know

When our company wanted to help out a local family, they coordinated it. We bought Christmas dinner, and donated new presents for the whole family, and their social worker delivered everything to assure the family's privacy.

I'm sure they would have MANY candidates for bikes!

[trof]

22. In Melrose, MA they just put usable items by the street.

My daughter does this with 'big' toys and anything else still usable.
It's generally accepted that if you get to it before the garbage truck, it's yours.

Once we put an old gas grill out.
The steel grates were gone in a few hours, and the top was gone by the end of the day.
Next morning the rest was gone.
I posited it was one person with a very small car.
Had to break the load down.
;-)