Bike Giveaway Brings Christmas Joy to 20 Kids

Katherine goes for a test ride with Bici Centro Hector Gonzalez.

Twenty kids got shiny new bikes last Saturday during the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s second annual A Bike 4 Christmas event. The recipients, all under the age of 10, were preselected by the Franklin Neighborhood Center and also received new helmets and riding safety tips.

A Coalition boardmember and BiciCentro shop volunteer who grew up in a poor family in the San Joaquin Valley launched the event last year. He recalled being ashamed to return to school after winter break because he wasn’t able to share in the “What did you get for Christmas?” talk.