Campers Get Cool Wheels Courtesy of Free Bike Depot
Emma Delk Trending
BENWOOD -- Children attending Camp Kno-Koma -- a camp for children with diabetes -- this summer will race around the Greenbrier River Trail on new sets of wheels courtesy of the Free Bike Depot.
Free Bike Depot founder John Warnick departed from the nonprofit's warehouse in Benwood this morning for Frankford to deliver the 30 donated bikes to his son-in-law, Camp Kno-Koma Board Member Scott Bragg.
Camp Kno-Koma is a summer camp for diabetic children across the state ages seven to 15. At the camp, the children participate in typical summer camp activities, from canoeing to swimming. At the same time, their food and water intake and insulin levels are monitored so they can safely participate in activities.
"The focus is for the kids to have fun while keeping better control of their medical condition," Bragg said. "The camp empowers them to make friends and take control of their medications. We want them not to feel like they have a disease since they are going out and experiencing what any other kid gets to do at camp."
The bikes will be well-used at the camp. Monday through Friday, campers travel 6-8 miles every day on the Greenbrier Trail, including one longer 10- to 12-mile ride.
"Last year, we actually had a shortage of bikes, so some of our younger kids were not able to go on the trail for a long distance," Bragg noted. "This donation really helps us with the logistics for camp and makes sure that we have appropriate supervision on the trail since leaders and medical staff need bikes as well to meet the camper's needs."
With 120 children attending the camp each year, Bragg noted that the camp cycles through bikes quickly. As flat tires and broken gears became more common during last year's camp, Bragg reached out to Warnick six months ago to see if any bikes were available.
As soon as he got the call from Bragg, Warnick began setting aside some of the newer bike donations the depot received for the campers. He noted that many bikes that fill the truck were damaged bicycles from the Wheeling and St. Clairsville's Walmart locations that needed a "couple of tweaks" to be ready to hit the trail again.
Wheelcraft Bicycles, Quick Service Bicycle Shop and private donations to the depot also contributed to the camp's bike supply. Erik Longshaw rounded out the donations by providing 10 bikes to the depot Thursday night.
Warnick added that Art's Old Town Bicycle Repair owner Art Brunside provided spare bike parts.
"Primarily I tried to get better bikes for the kids so that they have a better longevity," Warnick noted. "We lucked out on many of these bikes since they didn't need that many repairs."
According to Warnick, the 30 helmets that the campers will use were donated to the depot by the Ohio Valley Trauma Center "a couple of years ago."
Any of the "tweaks" needed to the bikes were performed by Free Bike Depot volunteers, including Warnick, Kevin Truex, Chris Truex and Dave Holloway.
The truck the 30 bikes will travel in was also donated by the St. Clairsville Enterprise Rent-A-Car location.
With everything from the bikes to the helmets being provided by donations from across the valley, Warnick noted the Free Bike Depot is expanding its reach in the area to coordinate larger donations.
The Camp Kno-Koma donation comes on the heels of the Free Bike Depot handing out more than 50 free bikes during the Patriotic Bike Parade in St. Clairsville.
"We just try to reach out with as many arms as possible like an octopus and make connections in the region," Warnick described. "We want to go from the Wheeling area and beyond to get people really interested in getting involved for not only donating bikes but working on them and making them all available for everybody."
Warnick hopes his trip to Frankford to drop off the bikes will also draw attention to the depot from beyond the Ohio Valley. As an organization that relies on word of mouth, he noted bigger donations to different areas of the state will "ramp up" the organization's presence and prevent the depot from "dying out" once he stops volunteering for it.
"I'm excited to help these kids out," Warnick said. "These people downstate will also see the bikes came from Wheeling, which shines a light on the area and the depot in a big way. I guarantee I'll have people calling me and wanting to support it or donate bikes from around the state."
For Bragg, the donation means no child at the camp will have to be told "no" during the biking activities.
"Every year we rely on donations from organizations along with volunteers, medical staff and counselors to help make the camp happen," Bragg said. "This will help us put everything together for the kids and make sure we have the appropriate equipment for them to have a safe and fun camping experience."
Warnick believes the donation speaks to the main mission of the Free Bike Depot -- making bikes accessible to everyone.
"People hear Free Bike Depot and their mind becomes stuck on the word 'free,' but it's really not free," Warnick said. "It's really just neighbor helping neighbor. It's me taking a bike from a garage and putting it onto the bike trail for someone to ride it."
To volunteer or donate to the Free Bike Depot, call 304-281-6085.