Page 39 - BusinessWest May 26, 2020
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soon had more than 100 masks coming his way each day that he started distributing to senior centers, nursing homes, and a host of police departments.
Because of that initiative, Charland’s agency was deemed essential. And soon, most of the focus was back on bikes and other, more tradi- tional aspects of its mission. But there was some pivoting as well.
With schools closed, many of the donations of bicycles shifted to the homeless and veterans groups, he noted, adding that he also teamed up with the Massachusetts Military Support Foun- dation to bring food to veterans’ organizations.
of them, to West Springfield, but, because the schools were closed, we had to go house to house to deliver the bikes to individual families,” he said, adding that now, as the pandemic is eas- ing, there is greater demand and an even a great- er sense of urgency — if that’s possible.
That’s because bicycles — and bicycle parts — are now firmly on the growing list of items that are in demand, but also short supply. As
in very short. During COVID, with children out of school, demand for bikes soared, Charland explained, adding that manufacturers have struggled mightily to build inventory amid sup- ply-chain issues.
basic repairs to bicycles — Charland handles the more difficult work — and getting them ready for transport.
On average, he and his volunteers will get roughly 20 bikes ready for the road each day, said Charland, adding that many of the donated bikes are in decent shape, and those needing considerable work are often stripped down for parts.
In addition to traditional bicycles, requests are soaring for bikes for children with special needs. And they come from not only Western Mass., but across the country. Charland had a few ready to go out the door on the day Business- West visited, but there are roughly 90 requests for such bikes on his desk.
Pedaling On
Meanwhile, as he goes about meeting these requests, he battles a number of health issues, most recently three hernias, and shoulder and kidney issues that now keep him from working for a living and waging legal battles for workers’ comp. This is addition to a head injury that has long impacted his quality of life.
He said he soldiers on because of the satisfac- tion he gets from his various efforts, especially the delivery of a bicycle — and a helmet, water bottle, and first-aid kit — to a child in need.
“I love what I do,” he said simply. “This is a lot of fun, and to see the look on the kids’ faces ... that’s what drives me.” u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
“There’s nothing in the stores; I was in a bike shop the other day, and there were maybe four bikes there, and these were the high-end models that sell for a few thousand dollars.”
“There’s nothing in the stores; I was in a bike shop the other day, and there were maybe four bikes there, and these were the high-end models that sell for a few thousand dollars,” he said, adding that this dynamic is generating more individual requests for bikes from families and nonprofits in need.
Pedal Thru Youth is better equipped to handle larger requests
    Getting back to bicycles ... this is still the primary mission of Pedal Thru Youth, and the work of repairing and readying those thousands of bikes that have been donated or collected
by police departments, public-works employ- ees, and others has gone on throughout the pandemic.
The donations have mostly been much smaller in scale — again, because most schools remain closed or not open to the public — but Charland has improvised.
“We did a very large donation of bikes, 169
and bulk deliveries of a few dozen or a few hun- dred bicycles, but, out of necessity, it has adjust- ed, as with those deliveries to West Springfield families. Overall, he meets roughly 90% of the individual requests for bicycles.
He tries to meet this demand not all by myself, but pretty close.
He has some help from some volunteers, including a few individuals involved in the pro- gram called Roca, which strives to end recidi- vism and return offenders to society through job placement and other initiatives. They assist with
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