Brighton bicycle charity expanding to Detroit, Flint

What began as Dave Wolfe's mission to repair and donate bicycles to people in need of transportation is now expanding into a full-fledged charitable organization providing assistance over more of southeast Michigan.

Brighton Township-based Charity Bicycles recently received its first large grant, and is using the funding to expand to Detroit and Flint, and formalize a training program that teaches bike repair.

The $35,600 grant from the Kellogg Family Foundation is the first Dave and Judy Wolfe have obtained since founding the charity in 2020. The foundation will host a check presentation at Charity Bicycle's Brighton Township shop 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3.

"They are the type of charity we'd love to be involved with," Dr. Thomas Kellogg said. "They are donating bikes to lots of different groups, including in Flint and in lower economic areas, where these kids can go out and do things that promote their lifestyle and lead to good results. Having a bike could give them access to jobs and school and other stuff."

The grant followed encounters between Wolfe and Kellogg, and member of the famous Kellogg family, best known for inventing corn flakes in Battle Creek.

Kellogg, a Howell dentist, needed bike repairs and became a customer at Charity Bicycles, where volunteers repair donated and salvaged bicycles to distribute to adults and children in need, often through partnerships with other local community service organizations. The shop also offers repair services and sells bicycles to raise funds.

Wolfe said, at first, he did not realize Kellogg was related to the famous family and a board member of the Kellogg Family Foundation.

Kellogg encouraged Wolfe to apply for a grant through the foundation, which was founded by his parents Edward and June Kellogg, who lived in Howell; his great-grandfather was John Harvey Kellogg, a physician who ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium, where he and his brother W.K. Kellogg invented corn flakes.

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Kellogg said he was moved by what the Wolfes do because when his father was teaching dental hygiene at the University of Detroit Mercy, he would learn about students who were struggling to get to class and find them bicycles.

"Dave (Wolfe) has done that on a bigger scale," he said.

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Wolfe began his journey several years before he and his wife founded Charity Bicycles. He started repairing bicycles for people who had left the prison system.

The Wolfes now work with a number of nonprofits, including Second Chance, Love INC, LACASA, Livingston County Catholic Charities, churches and others, which connect the couple with people in need of bikes, including individuals with disabilities, foster children and others.

"We studied the market and know what the needs are. We've done our homework and we're ready to step up what we've already done," Dave Wolfe said.

Kellogg Family Foundation board member Sarah Tottingham said the foundation strives to create long-term partnerships with the charitable causes it funds.

"There is interest in continuing the mission," Tottingham said. "Historically, we don't want to give money to a grantee and then walk away. We'd like to have long-term partnerships."

She said the foundation also provides support beyond grants.

They will supply billboard space near Interstate 96 and Dorr Road in Genoa Township to promote Charity Bicycles, promote the charity and its events on the foundation's website and social media.

"It gives them more visibility in the community," she said.

Detroit, Flint charities offer space rent free

Two other nonprofits are getting involved with Charity Bicycle's expansion by donating space.

In Detroit, youth services organization, Central Detroit Christian, is making room in its center.

The Boys and Girls Club of Great Flint is welcoming Charity Bicycles into its facility in the former Sobey Elementary School, which the nonprofit utilizes for afterschool and summer programs.

"They are setting aside a classroom for us, and some of the teachers want to help repair bikes," Wolfe said, adding that they will also be recruiting Kettering University students interested in mechanical engineering to volunteer.

Charity Bicycles plans to be up and running at the new sites locations within the next couple months.

"At some point, if they get those launched, we can go somewhere else," Wolfe said.

A 'more robust' training program in the works

The Kellogg Family Foundation grant also helped create Charity Bicycle's first two paid positions. Two retirees will work part-time training volunteers how to repair bicycles.

While the shop has been offering training, the instruction will grow into a full program, complete with training manuals and select video tutorials.

"The training is going to be more robust, formalized," Charity Bicycles board member and volunteer Bruce Steffer said. "They will bring processes and procedures to be more organized, and they are also going to be evaluating volunteers on what their strengths are."

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The training program will start in Brighton Township, and they hope to eventually expand it to other locations.

The organization plans to convert a parts storage room into a second bicycle repair station, equipped with bike stands, tools and parts.

A second repair station will help them repair or scrap more of the hundreds of bikes stored at the shop — more than mechanics can get to with one station.

Wolfe said Charity sees five to 10 donations of bicycles in a day.

He also started partnering with area bicycle stores that got behind on bike repairs during the pandemic, due to people looking for activities they could do outdoors, as well as staffing cuts.

"Our plan is to expand our service area so we can train more people and serve more people," Wolfe said. "There is a huge demand."

Up until receiving the Kellogg Family Foundation grant, Charity Bicycles had been fully self-supported.

Board member and volunteer Jeff Rey said he feels like it was God's calling for him to spend his retirement helping Charity Bicycles.

Rey said he was called to "help them be self-sufficient, because the Wolfes have done so much already."

"Dave (Wolfe) was thinking it could sustain on sales and repairs, but we need to reach out for charitable donations," he said.

'Fun Ride' will support the cause

The first Charity Bicycles Fun Ride Sept. 24 will start and end at event sponsor Hirata's manufacturing facility in New Hudson, at 30165 S. Hill Road.

Riders will follow the Huron Valley Trail into the Island Lake State Recreation Area. Options include a 3-mile family ride, a 10-mile fun ride and a 19-mile "show off" ride. Riders can check in at 9 a.m. and the rides will commence at 10 a.m.

Bike mechanics will be on-site for minor tune-ups and to demonstrate basic bicycle maintenance. Riders will also get food, water and a custom stainless steel water bottle.

The cost is $35 for riders 12 and older, $80 for a family of four and $10 for each additional child.

To register for the event, visit www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4BA8A62AA4FAC34-funride

Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton bicycle charity expanding to Detroit, Flint