TRIPS FOR KIDS WNC

We are pleased to announce that Asheville Brixx is holding a fundraiser for us this month.  They are raffling a New Belgium Fat Tire Cruiser Bike.  To enter the raffle, all you have to do is go to the restaurant in Biltmore Park and purchase a  raffle ticket (or as many as you want) .  Tickets are $1 each and there is no limit on how many one person can purchase.  So, while you are there enjoying some awesome wood fired pizza and your choice of beverage,  purchase a handful or even a bucketful of tickets.  Doing so will increase your chances of winning and at the same time will provide the funds to help get more kids on bikes!!

Drawing will be held on November 6th.

Let’s go get some pizza!!

Click here to view trailer.

Thanks for a partnership with Liberty Bikes, we are able to bring this film to the Asheville area.

Thursday Sept 27th, 10pm,  all ticket sales will fund Trips For Kids WNC and help us fulfill the mission of providing mountain bike outings to youth who would not ordinarily have the opportunity to participate in such activities

The movie is showing at Asheville Pizza and Brewing  at 675 Merrimon Ave.

If for some reason, you cannot join us,  you can still help by donating here:  DONATE NOW

One week to go until the next Asheville Cyclocross race.  These guys and girls get community at the grassroots level and keep things simple yet at the same time professional.  They are partially responsible for creating a buzz about cyclocross in the WNC mountains and I was thrilled when they approached me to talk about a partnership.  What that means is that they committed to donating a portion of proceeds to Trips For Kids WNC, simple.

Click the link below and get signed up.  Don’t race CX? Come out and enjoy the family friendly vibe: kids playing, free beer,good music, and always a fun time.   And you can feel good about helping us provide mountain bike outings to youth who would not otherwise have that opportunity.  Kids whose parents don’t have the means to drive them to local trails.  Kids who don’t have the means to purchase top of the line bike, or even functional bikes.  Helmets?  A luxury.

http://www.pre-reg.com/Users/RacerMain.aspx?Type=1&EventID=697

So come on out, bring your bike, cowbell, family, and be prepared to have a good time…… and help get some kids on bikes!!

I am very excited to announce that we have passed inspection and are approved to operate a Bicycle Thrift Shop in the city of Asheville.  With the help of several volunteers, we have painted, and cleaned up a small warehouse space near just outside of Biltmore Village in the Oakley neighborhood.   Over the next week or so, we will be moving in and getting things set up for a soft opening, with a grand opening party in the works for early fall…. can we have some blue grass and BBQ?   Hopefully.

In the meantime, I must share with you our biggest need.  Several individuals, including some local bike shop mechanics have stepped up to volunteer their time in refurbishing donated bikes which is awesome.  But,  the one thing we currently lack is tools.   Park Tools is working with us to make a one time discounted purchase on tools to outfit the shop.   As you may know, purchasing this amount of tools can be quite costly.  Our goal is to raise $1000 in the next week, so that we can get the shop outfitted. Will you help with this last important piece of the puzzle?  You can donate right now by clicking here.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for more details!

It has been a while since we have posted an update and for good reason. We were conducting 3-5 trips per week over a six week period in June and July. During this time we hosted 129 kids on rides. Kids who, without the Trips For Kids WNC program, would not have had the opportunity to participate in mountain biking.

One highlight from the summer was seeing 3 different kids learn how to ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. Our volunteers, and staff from the organizations we partnered with, selflessly spent time with the individuals, teaching them the basics of riding. All of the 3 kids were able to participate in the rides later in the summer.

Thanks to the following organizations for allowing us to be a part of your summer programming:

• Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania Co.
• I Have A Dream Foundation
• Children First, Communities In Schools
• YMCA of Western NC/ Buncombe County Schools
• Kid Power of Park Ridge Health

So now what?  Even though the summer rides have come to an end, we have still been very busy.  The opportunity opened up to start a new program that goes hand in hand with the TFK WNC mission: providing mountain bike outings to youth who would not otherwise have that opportunity.

We are in the works of opening a shop space that will house a used gear and bike thrift shop, as well as space for kids bike mechanic classes. Thanks to support in the form of a grant for starting a new program, we have put a dent in start up costs.

The location is 89 Thompson Street, Unit H: in between Biltmore Village and Oakley Neighborhood.

We will continue taking in donated gear and bicycles : “Dusty but not Rusty”,  fixing them up and selling them at low costs so that the community will have access to low cost transportation and recreation.   The plan is for this venture to pay the bills so that we can offer a community space where kids can learn how to work on bikes.

We want to be very careful not to compete with all of the local bike shops who have been so generous in so many different ways, and continue to be.  For this reason, we will not be doing tune ups, consignments, or carrying any retails items.  We also will not be ordering parts for bikes unless they are the bikes that have been donated for re-sale.

We hope to open the doors to the public by mid September.  We still have a lot of work to do but are getting there.  In addition to used gear and bikes, we need tools, bike stands, shelves, display cases among other things.  If you are interested in donating your used gear or bikes, contact Stephen:  stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com.    If you are interested in helping out with start up costs, or pledging the $500 for one month’s operating costs,  you can do that right now:  Donate by clicking here.

And lastly we have new jerseys.  This is your opportunity to join our team and help us spread the word about what we do.  The jersey is by Starlight Apparel and is very lightweight and breathable.  We only printed a limited number so get yours before it is too late.  The are for sale at REI Asheville, and we have men’s and women’s cuts!!

Thanks for reading and thanks for your support.  This is a community effort and would be impossible without the help of this community!

Congrats to Jason Luque for winning the I-9 Wheelset Raffle. Thanks to all who participated!!!

Only 20 tickets left. Get yours before it is too late. $20 each with a 1 in 100 chance of winning. Drawing will be held after all tickets are sold.

Click here to enter.

We have finalized the summer schedule and are excited about taking kids on outings this summer. If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact Stephen: stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com for details.

Here is the current calndar:
June:
7- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
8- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park
14- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
16- Asheville Father’s Fest 12-6 pm
21- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
23- Biltmore Baptist Bike Safety Rodeo
23- AVL CX
26- Children First: Project March- Arboretum 10-12
27- YMCA 1-3:30 Location TBD
28- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
29- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park
July:
2- Children First: Project March- 1:30-3:30
3- Children First: Project March- 10-12 Carrier Park
5- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
6- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park
9- Children First: Project March 10-12 Arboretum
10- Children First: Project March 10-12
12- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
13- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park
16- Children First: Project March 10-12 Arboretum
17- Children First: Project March 10-12
19- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
20- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park
24/25- YMCA 21st Century Bridge Camp: Time and Location TBD
26- Boys and Girls Club Transylvania County 9-12
27- I Have A Dream Foundation 10-12 Carrier Park

It is going to be a fun yet busy summer. Come join us!

Volunteers Needed:

We are looking for vounteers to help with our gear sale at Mountain Sports Festival, even if you only have 1hr to come help us, let me know: stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com

We also need volunteers to help with some kids races:
Kids Duathlon ( run/ride) :Saturday, May 26th from 11-12.
The Kids Bike Race: Sunday, May 27th from 10:30-11.

Please let me know asap if you can help: stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com or 828-777-1022

Upcoming/Current Events:

Greenlife Groceries- Asheville- Greenlife Grocery voted us to be the recipient of their “Bag Donation” program. Each time a customer uses a re-usable bag in the month of May, the store will donate 5 cents to Trips For Kids WNC!!! Go shopping and take your reusable bags!!

Used Gear Sale @ Mountain Sports Festival: We are collecting used cycling gear, clothing and bikes ( dusty but not rusty ) to sell at the used gear sale. All proceeds will enable us to continue getting kids on bikes. So, go clean out your shed, garage, bike place and bring us some stuff to sell.
We are also looking for some volunteers to spend some time sitting under the tent selling our goods, so if you want to come hang out, spread the word and listen to music, this is for you!

We are also sponsoring some kids races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, we could use your help. If interested, contact Stephen: stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com

Yes, we are busy this spring and have several meeting lined up to talk about summer plans. We will be posting a calendar of rides soon so keep checking back, and if you can only make one ride or event, your help is appreciated.

Wow, it has been a whirlwind around here recently and we have been busy getting kids on bikes. Here are some updates and upcoming events:

Healthy Kids Day- In conjunction with Blue Ridge Bicycle Club and Healthy Buncombe, we worked at the Healthy Kids Day bike rodeo, and served over 40 kids. We taught them helmet fit, riding etiquette, proper signaling etc.

Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day-Spring- We had over 100 kids and parents show up to the event, and thanks to the generouse raffle donations, we were able to send each kid home with something special: t-shirts, water bottles, helmets and more to choose from.

Safe Routes To School- We are excited to be partnering with the local SRTS committee on a project that will connect the Ledgewood Apartments to Oakley Elementary School and surrounding areas. There are currently 2 busloads of kids in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, being transported to school and back. 4 busloads daily, for a distance of .6 miles each way. If we are able to negotiate a walking/riding route, the kids will travel a distance of only .4 miles each way.

School Programs- While we continue to work with Erwin Middle and Francine Delaney, we have started a group with the Eblen Intermediate School, so exciting! We are working with 5th and 6th graders and the coolest thing is that the 6th graders will be at Erwin Middle next year.

Upcoming/Current Events:

Greenlife Groceries- Asheville- Greenlife Grocery voted us to be the recipient of their “Bag Donation” program. Each time a customer uses a re-usable bag in the month of May, the store will donate 5 cents to Trips For Kids WNC!!! Go shopping and take your reusable bags!!

Used Gear Sale @ Mountain Sports Festival: We are collecting used cycling gear, clothing and bikes ( dusty but not rusty ) to sell at the used gear sale. All proceeds will enable us to continue getting kids on bikes. So, go clean out your shed, garage, bike place and bring us some stuff to sell.
We are also looking for some volunteers to spend some time sitting under the tent selling our goods, so if you want to come hang out, spread the word and listen to music, this is for you!

We are also sponsoring some kids races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, we could use your help. If interested, contact Stephen: stephen@tripsforkidswnc.com

Yes, we are busy this spring and have several meeting lined up to talk about summer plans. We will be posting a calendar of rides soon so keep checking back, and if you can only make one ride or event, your help is appreciated.

Click Picture for Web-site

We are excited to announce a fiscal sponsorship agreement with Asheville Cyclocross. This organization has been very active in the community providing quality cyclocross races in the Southeast. The organization also played a key role in winning USA Cycling’s support to bring 2016 National Cyclocross Championshps to Asheville and the Biltmore House.

In addition to valued fundraising, Asheville CX is offering free entry to races to all youth who are currently in the Trips For Kids WNC program.

Click Picture For Web-site

Please take a minute to vote for Stephen Janes for Southeast Rep, Foundry Tradesman: read on for more info.

Foundry Cycles has been looking for five brand ambassadors to ride our bikes and document their experiences. We’re calling them Foundry Tradesmen and Tradeswomen. We’ve narrowed it down to 15 finalists in 5 regions. One finalist from each region will be selected by your votes. Click here for the voting page.

Thanks for reading, voting, and most of all, thanks for your support!