The Café of Life in Bonita Springs is partnering with Bikes for Tykes with some 200 bicycles already donated.
Each month there will be 15 bicycles provided to the Café of Life for both children and adults.
Mike Jarvis has received assistance from the Café of Life for around three years and is one of the clients who has recently received a bicycle. Jarvis, who used to be homeless, now has a job and a place to live, and he appreciates having a bicycle as it gets him to his job and guarantees reliable transportation.
“Having a bike helps me in the heat because I don't have to walk everywhere,” Jarvis said. “I have bad ankles, and I wear high tops. I can't last walking like a mile and a half, and I have to go three to five miles a day, and bike riding is a lot easier to get from place to place.”
The Café of Life is a faith-based organization that was started in a small storefront by a couple in 1998. It has since grown to its home at Leitner Neighborhood Park, a private/public partnership between the Café of Life and the City of Bonita Springs.
The organization stands behind the belief that one must love and assist one’s neighbor in times of need.
The Café of Life's mission of is to provide basic human needs to the poor and hungry people in the Bonita Springs area in a manner that preserves the dignity of the client in a respectful environment and to enrich and empower people to be all that they can be.
In order to accomplish that, it requires that people have transportation to get to the Café and food pantry.
“When we do the repairs, we get a chance to meet the people, and they're so very, very appreciative. It makes our hearts feel good."Skip Riffle, president and founder of Bikes for Tykes
This new initiative to provide people with bikes allows them to have their own means of transportation to the Café of Life, work, school, and the grocery store.
Lucy Brocks, the transportation coordinator at the Café of Life, drives a bus four days a week to allow 28 people to receive hot meals at the café. The organization serves about 100-125 meals a day.
That transport effort ensures that people who need help are able to get to the Café of Life where they can get assistance with rent, utilities, and telephone bills.
In addition to this help, Café of Life gives out bus passes, allows clients to cover longer distances and then ride their bicycles from the bus stop to their destination. Gas gift cards are distributed to those who have vehicles but struggle to afford gas, especially if they are living in their cars.
“We don't receive any government funding at all,” Dolores Siok, a staff member at the Café of Life, said. “All of our funds come from donors. We never have any fundraisers. We're just blessed that the community is familiar with us. We've been here for 26 years. They're familiar with us, and they have enough faith in what we're doing to just donate.”
Bikes for Tykes is an organization in Naples that was founded in 1987. It is funded by grants as well as self-funding through selling bicycles.
In addition to the Café of Life, Bikes for Tykes works closely with other organizations such as Catholic Charities, the David Lawrence Center, Friends of Foster Care, and the Salvation Army.
Florida Gulf Coast University works with the organization by giving it the bikes left on campus at the end of the school year. Volunteers refurbish the bikes to allow more bicycles to be sent out into the community for those in need.
“We keep a list of those that we've given to that, you know, they, they can't come and say, Oh, I got a bike, but I want another one. It's one per person,” Brocks said.
Brocks also keeps a list of who still needs one and works her way down the list as each batch of bicycles arrives every month.
“We do off-premise repairs twice a month,” Skip Riffle, president and founder of Bikes for Tykes, said. “On the second Tuesday of the month, we go to Catholic Charities here on Naples East Trail, and we do free bike repair for the homeless. On the fourth Saturday of the month, we go to the Golden Gate Community Center, and we do free bike repairs for that neighborhood out there.”
While Bikes for Tykes started with the mission to provide a bicycle for every child that needs one in Collier County, it has evolved to now include adults.
Bikes for Tykes needs volunteers, specifically bike mechanics to operate these free repairs. They train people who want to learn how to be bike mechanics and have various office and administrative roles open. To volunteer with Bikes for Tykes, those interested can contact the organization via email at info@bikesfortykes.org or by phone at (239) 450-3366.
“When we do the repairs, we get a chance to meet the people, and they're so very, very appreciative. It makes our hearts feel good,” Riffle said.
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