Our History
Bikes For Kids was conceived in 2019 to provide bikes for underprivileged children in Northern Indiana. The organization was founded by Damian Sage (with a little help from his grandparents). Damian (pictured above), received a new bicycle for his birthday in November of 2019. He was 6 years old when he was asked what he wanted to do with his old bike that he no longer needed. His response was, "Can I give it to another child that cannot afford one?" After considerable research and effort, we're making Damian's wish a reality on a larger scale.
To date, we have given away over 2,000 new and used bikes and helmets to kids in Northern Indiana over the last 6 years.
In 2025, we are modifying our program and will concentrate on new bikes and helmets to be given away to Northern Indiana 2nd graders only. Unfortunately, we lack volunteers to refurbish used bikes and cannot guarantee a consistant supply to give away to other children. Because of our partnership with Walmart, we can acquire an unlimited number of new, assembled 20" boys and girls bikes for second grade students. This reduces the number of volunteers needed. We will give away over 500+ bikes and helmets to Marshall County, South St. Joseph County and Starke County (Knox and North Judson Schools) kids in the spring of 2025.
Our short-term goal is to expand our program into St. Joseph County (South Bend and Mishawaka) and Elkhart County (Elkhart, Goshen and Nappanee). We hope to provide over 1,500 bicycles and helmets to kids in the South Bend, Mishawaka and Penn-Harris-Madison School Systems in the 2025 - 2026 school year. Adding these schools will bring our annual bike giveaway totals to over 2,000 for our organization. We would like to add Elkhart County schools to our program for the 2026-2027 school year.
We are seeking corporate and individual partners in these areas to help us acquire the bikes and helmets and also provide warehouse/storage locations in Southern St. Joseph and eventually Elkhart Counties.
Bikes For Kids, Inc. 19329 6B Road, Plymouth, Indiana 46563
One of our proudest moments during the 2021 giveaway event was donating a special needs tricycle to St. Joseph Health System Rehabilitation Services, to help several children that needed this equipment for their therapy.