Tiara Hill-Lee Achieves High Honors

Bike Elf and Wesley House Community Center challenged Wesley House after school program participants in January 2017. K-8th grade students could earn a bicycle by achieving all A’s & E’s (1st level honor roll) in both grading periods between January and May.

On June 5, 2017, the children and counselors who met the challenge and achieved their goal received Bike Elf bicycles, a new bicycle helmet and a new lock at a special ceremony.

Congratulations to fourth grader Tiara Hill-Lee for meeting the challenge! Tiara is a smart, strong, and delightful young lady to be sure. Bike Elf is proud to have been able to make this story about how hard she worked to earn her bicycle and what an inspiration she was to all of the other children in the Wesley House Community Center after school program. Tiara’s mom, Kimberly Hill is pretty impressive herself!

Bike Elf Stories: Phillip & Josiah Tucker

Meet Phillip and Josiah Tucker. Bike Elf is thrilled to premier Bike Elf stories by highlighting these two young men and promoting a video about how they earned bicycles through Bike Elf’s partnership with the Boys and Girls Club Blount County (BGCBC).

The Tucker brothers earned bikes from Bike Elf at the BGCBC during Summer 2016 by participating in the summer Brain Gain reading and academic program. Brain Gain prevents summer learning loss and bridges the gap between grades by providing structured learning opportunities for enrolled kids. Every child enrolled in the BGCBC summer program participates in Brain Gain. Bike Elf awards bicycles to the top 25 participants. Participation ranking is based on achievement, involvement and attendance.

Just as every child is unique, every Bike Elf Story is too. Bike Elf Stories however, all share that element of universal joy, pride and sense of accomplishment that we get when we have worked for a goal and attained it. Parents of Bike Elf recipients, like Phillip Tucker, Sr. in this video, express immense gratitude not only for the “like new” bicycle their children receive, but especially for the important lesson that the bike represents.

Bike Elf is based on the idea that one of the most important things we can do, as parents and citizens, is instill the values of hard work into the children in our community. This is a mindset that will help them accomplish great things, and makes them more independent and self-sufficient as they go throughout their lives. These values will help them become good at many things, because they will know what they can accomplish, if they put their mind to it.

Congratulations to Phillip and Josiah Tucker for meeting your goal and earning your bicycle.

Bike Elf: BGCBC Giveaway, August 2016

Bike Elf and the Boys & Girls Club of Blount County partnership continues. Our hearts are so full…Bike Elf hit a milestone on August 17, 2016 and gave our 100th bicycle away since starting in January of 2015.

The Bikes for Brains & Hard Work program awarded 27 children bicycles that they earned over the summer in Brain Gain, Tech Lab, Gardening with Blackberry Farm, art classes and more. This was the largest single Bike Elf giveaway to date.

Bike Elf was overwhelmed with the huge attendance and support from the children’s parents and our talented, dedicated volunteer corps. you only need to watch this video to experience the joy, and the pride, each of these children expressed when they received bicycles they had earned by working hard all summer long.

Bike Elf Partnership: Wesley House Kick Off

The Wesley House /Bike Elf partnership launches Bike Elf’s new initiative: Read, Write & Ride with Bike Elf by challenging the children of Wesley House Community Center’s CARES (Children’s After-school Recreational & Educational Support) program to earn a bicycle over the Spring 2017 school term.

The challenge: K-8th grade students can earn a bicycle by achieving all A’s & E’s (1st level honor roll) in both grading periods between January and May 2017. Bicycles will be awarded at a ceremony in early June 2017.

Wesley House CARES enrollees are challenged to Step Up and Earn a Bike by marking their height and signing their name on several 2’ x 4’ posters that will indicate what size bike they’ll need once they achieve the goal of 1st level honor roll.

Anderson Olds, Wesley House Program Director said the top two CARES program goals for 2017 were: 1) to find ways to honor their participant children by celebrating them and their successes, and 2) to create motivating educational programs and incentivize learning. He and his team had not come up with a solution for achieving those goals when Leigh and Dewayne Wilson called him in October 2016 and requested a meeting to discuss the two organizations partnering in the new year. Bike Elf and Read, Write & Ride is the perfect fit.

The Bike Elf organization is equally enthusiastic about the partnership and the amazing fit between the two organizations. Dewayne Wilson feels strongly about the ethos that all Bike Elf bicycles are given to recipients who have “earned” them. The Wilsons were thrilled when Anderson Olds was emphatic that the goal for CARES participants should be straight A’s only.

Over the next four months Bike Elf and Wesley House have several programs and incentive activities planned for Bike Elf to visit the CARES enrollees to remind them of their goal and keep them motivated to achieve earning a bicycle for the June 2017 giveaway.

Bike Elf: Bikes for Brains & Hard Work

Bike Elf and the Boys & Girls Club of Blount County partnership continues with bikes awarded to deserving members for exemplary participation in the Power Hour Study program. Additionally, eight members achieved Youth of the Month in August through November 2015 and Youth of the Year – 2015 is also recognized.

Following the Bikes for Brains & Hard Work ceremony, a GoPro video camera was mounted on the handlebars of each recipient’s bicycle while these proud children took their “first spin around the gym” on the bicycle they earned from Bike Elf.

Bike Elf and The Boys & Girls Club continue to challenge BGCBC members by inviting them to earn bicycles this spring 2016 via Honor Roll, Bike Elf Honor Roll, participation in the Power Hour study program and Youth of the Month.

We do not accept used bicycles

Bike Elf does not and cannot accept used, refurbished or repaired bicycles. We only provide brand new, unused bicycles to our student participants and therefore have no need for used bikes. We appreciate your generosity, but we ask that you do not drop off used bicycles at our locations or events.