Thanks to a few hundred kind elves, one lucky neighborhood in Grand Rapids will soon be filled with new bicycles and a whole lot of happy children.
Elves & More of West Michigan gathers volunteers each December to assemble bikes in a warehouse. These bikes are then donated a week later to children in a lower-income neighborhood.
Now in their eighth year, the organization plans to deliver roughly 1,100 bikes, helmets, and treasure boxes to children right before Christmas.
The recipient neighborhood is kept a secret until the day of delivery, but when the elves arrive, everyone who is home knows they are there. That’s because the elves show up with a caravan of semi trucks, fire trucks, police cars, and other vehicles. Horns beep and sirens blare.
“We make a lot of noise,” says Liz Bracken, the chief elf and president of the board.
Once everyone knows the elves are in the neighborhood, bikes and helmets get passed out to kids ages 4-17 and treasure boxes filled with toys, games, pajamas, hats, and mittens are given to the younger children.
Not only is a bike fun, but it also offers a child the freedom to explore the neighborhood, a means of transportation, and a way to get some exercise. If everyone nearby also has a bike, it encourages social behavior and new friendships are often made.
The idea to donate bikes came about eight years ago when Bracken saw a segment on "The Today Show" about the Houston Elves & More organization. She contacted them and asked if there was a local group here and when she found out there wasn’t, she started one.
Since then, the organization has presented 7,500 new bikes and helmets and 2,300 treasure boxes to children in the Baxter, Belknap, Black Hills, Madison, Roosevelt Park, and South West Area neighborhoods.
Once a neighborhood is chosen, data on the number of children living there is collected from the schools, local organizations, and the Grand Rapids Community Research Institute. Usually, only the residents who are home get the bikes and treasure boxes, but often, Elves & More will arrange to leave some at a neighborhood school so families can pick them up later.
Annually, Elves & More averages around 300 volunteers to assemble the bikes and treasure boxes and another 200 or so on delivery day.
Van’s Delivery, a trucking, warehousing, and logistics firm, supplies the warehouse space for assembly and 6-7 semi trucks to deliver the bikes. Owner John Nieuwenhuis and his wife Jean also sit on the Elves & More board of directors.
For their 10th anniversary in a few years, Elves & More would like to double the current number of bikes delivered to 2,000. Right now, they’re asking for donations -- $60 pays for one bike and helmet -- and volunteers to assemble and deliver the bikes and treasure boxes.
On Sunday, Dec. 2 from 12-4 p.m., a fundraiser for Elves & More is being held at Big O’ Café on Ottawa Avenue. Guests will enjoy a pizza buffet, live entertainment, and more. The cost is $15 per person, or $25 a couple, and kids under 12 get in free.
Organizers ask that interested volunteers like their Facebook page and register online to receive the latest information. The tentative date for assembly is Dec. 15, but Bracken says she wants to make sure the bikes arrive on time before scheduling the day.
Volunteers are asked to bring their own tools and a list of what’s required is on the Elves & More website. Once all of the elves arrive at the Van’s Delivery warehouse, the process goes quickly.
“It’s amazing that 300 people can build 1,100 bikes in three hours,” says Bracken.
The delivery of the bikes, helmets, and treasure boxes is scheduled for Dec. 22. If you want to donate or volunteer your time, here’s how you can get involved:
- Visit
Elves & More of West Michigan online to find out more about the organization.
- Attend the
fundraiser at Big O’ Cafe on Dec. 2 from 12-4 p.m.
-
Volunteer to assemble bikes or deliver them.
-
Donate through JustGive.Org.
- Like them on
Facebook.
- Follow
@elveswestmi on Twitter.
Source: Liz Bracken, Chief Elf and Elves & More of West Michigan Board President
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor
Images provided by Elves and More.