Christmas bike giveaway at Derbyshire Park has mission: Give out dozens of bicycles
Mike Jackson, founder of the Women of Virtue Foundation, is hosting his 10th annual bike giveaway Saturday just in time for Christmas as a way to give back to the community.
“My goal is to give away 200 bikes this year,” said Jackson, 55. “Last year I gave away 120 (bikes). This year I’m pushing for 200. I'm trusting God on whether or not it will happen or not.”
The bike giveaway will be held 11 a.m. Saturday at Derbyshire Park located at 849 Derbyshire Rd., Daytona Beach. At least 125 bikes have been received so far.
Jackson said to make the bike giveaway happen, he’s partnering with Steve Green, owner of Terrific Tire Warehouse in Holly Hill, Walmart and relying on donations to make the giveaway a success.
Sarah Banks, said her 11-year-old-daughter, Terrica, received a bike last year from the giveaway.
“She was super excited,” said Banks. “Bikes are so expensive. It’s hard for me to juggle my bills and nice gifts. It was a really nice bike. When I saw that Mike was doing the bike giveaway again this year I shared it with my friends on social media.”
The Women of Virtue Foundation was started to honor Jackson’s mother, Delores C. Williams-Ates. The goal for the foundation is to keep her memory alive. After being cancer-free himself for over 10 years, Jackson said he wants to use the second chance God gave him to give back to the community.
“Christmas was the holiday I always spent with my mom,” said Jackson. “I give back in her honor. I thought this (bike giveaway) was gonna be a one time deal. I’ve given away thousands of bikes, backpacks, I feed the homeless, I give out turkeys for Thanksgiving. Whenever God gives me a vision I move.”
Jackson made the decision to give away bikes this time of year because he never received one growing up.
“I don’t understand why I never received a bike,” he said. “As a juvenile I was really bad so since no one gave me a bike I (stold) one. I got in trouble and ended up at a juvenile facility. One of the detention workers saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. That man saved my life. So that's why this is special to me. Out of all the events I do throughout the year this is probably the one I'm most passionate about.”
Anyone interested in registering for a bike can access the registration form by visiting https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdK_qF1Jxq0HSsr-p1_xJuBLb1uK3Un5KL1oa-36lK45I3Wcw/viewform
For more information or to volunteer, Mike Jackson can be reached by phone at 386-451-2933.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach bike give away at Derbyshire Park on Saturday
