Assistant pastor Robbie Pruitt repairs bikes for neighborhood children at his home in Virginia. Pruitt is repairing and giving away bikes free during the coronavirus pandemic.
I’m one of those nosy old ladies who calls the police for things like abandoned bicycles. I used to see them a lot near the train, and if a bike was in the same place with no lock for several days, I would call. The police usually have a list of people upset about a stolen bike.
Kyle Melnick reports at the Washington Post about an assistant pastor who was also upset when his bike disappeared. At least at first.
“Someone stole Robbie Pruitt’s mountain bike off the rack of his Honda Odyssey in September. Pruitt visited a local bicycle store in Ashburn, Va., the next day only to find there were very few bikes in stock available to buy.
“That’s when an idea hit him — the thief might have stolen the bike because they’re in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic. What if the thief needed the bike to get to work? Pruitt, 44, wanted to help people who might be in such a predicament.
“Pruitt, an assistant rector at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Leesburg, Va., posted on a private Loudoun County Facebook page that he’d fix anyone’s bicycle free. In the post he also said he was accepting unwanted bikes, which he’d fix and donate to people in need. …
“That day, he received about 30 bicycles at his townhouse. After his next post, about 500 people expressed interest in either donating bikes or having Pruitt fix them.
“He set a goal of fixing 100 bikes before the end of 2020. He surpassed that, repairing more than 140 bicycles — donating about 60 percent of them and returning the rest to their owners. He gives bikes to anyone who asks, but tries to support children and families who are struggling. …
“Perhaps more important, along the way, he has taught more than a dozen young people in Loudoun County to mend their own bikes and the bikes of others. …
“Pruitt’s interest in helping people with their bikes during the pandemic started a couple of months before his was stolen.
“One July evening, after returning from a mountain bike ride in Reston, Pruitt was revamping the disc brake on his red Diamondback bicycle in front of his house when a group of four children from the neighborhood approached on their own bikes. Pruitt asked if they wanted to learn how to repair parts of a bike. Pruitt also noticed their bicycles were in bad condition, and some had flat tires. That night, he fixed them. It was the start of a friendship, and a neighborhood project.
‘All the neighborhood kids are spending a lot more time doing something that’s hands-on,’ said Danny Offei, Pruitt’s next-door neighbor. ‘Almost everybody in the neighborhood has a bike now, and he’s helped put those bikes together.’ …
“Pruitt grew up with his mother and two siblings in Columbia, S.C., where he said he’d always been interested in building and fixing. … In 2004, when working for Epiphany Episcopal Church in Herndon, Pruitt began repairing and donating bicycles as part of a church project. …
“In July after his family moved to Ashburn, [he] saw the condition of some of the neighborhood children’s bikes. Now, many nights, Pruitt is online, buying materials such as seats, brake levers, handlebars, training wheels, shifters, pedals and brakes. He estimates he has spent almost $1,500 on parts. Pruitt said repairing each bike takes around 30 minutes, depending on what it needs. He tries to restore each one so it’s as good as new.
“ ‘The feeling you get when somebody rides off with a bike that didn’t have one … there’s a lot of gratification,’ said Pruitt. …
“Pruitt’s favorite part of his bike project is creating friendships. He said after he fixes bikes, the owners will sometimes drop by his backyard just to chat. Some people will bring him food, including a Greek family that dropped off chicken souvlakia on Christmas Eve.”
More at the Washington Post, here.
If everyone found their way to repair bikes, cook for someone, donate a blanket, we’d solve the world’s problems in no time! Olé!
Olé, indeed. Tonight, as I wait for the repairman for the heating system, I worry about people who are cold at night every night. Many of us can take care of such problems. Many of us can’t.
Yes, another central skill for our well-being and comfort. I wish everyone were safe and warm (or cool).
I’m with Rebecca. Imagine what could be accomplished!
Well, I just signed up for a monthly contribution to a food bank. It’s shocking, but with unemployment so high in the pandemic, more people must turn to food banks.
Wonderful!