Bicycles bring cheer to Texas children

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The idea of putting bicycles in the hands of Texas children all started with the creation of a T-shirt logo consisting of a bunch of bike parts, which later sparked the idea of promoting the goodness of cycling. It is because of this idea that 90 children in Austin received a bicycle early Saturday morning in recognition for the sacrifice their parents make in the Texas National Guard .

"The point of this whole thing is to honor the troops, and the best way we found to do that is to honor the sacrifice their children make by a small token of freedom that their parents are fighting for, and that's what we call a bicycle," said Mark Smith, executive director for Bikes For Goodness Sake.

Bikes for Goodness Sake coordinated its efforts and donated 533 bikes to children of troops across Texas, landing bikes in the hands of 90 local children of deploying troops. With the help of Bucks Bikes , troops in uniform were able to take their children to receive bikes, helmets and a safety lesson Saturday morning. It is something that means a lot to the children.

"It means a lot, because normally the children whose parents are in the National Guard are overlooked, and nobody realizes the sacrifice they make in having a parent that's suddenly called up, and now their parents are gone," said Deborah Evans, with the Texas National Guard State Family Program. "It's a tremendous sacrifice. They sacrifice in silence, and most people don’t even know."

Evans said many of the families take a cut in pay when their family members are called to service, and she said it has been difficult for them to make ends meet, especially lower-ranking soldiers. Bikes for Goodness Sake targets lower-ranking soldiers and those most in need, and once these measures are met, the process for giving a bike begins with the help of the Texas National Guard. Without events such as these, Evans said the children probably would not get a bike.

"This is an opportunity where a lot of children can get a bike for Christmas and also their first bicycle," said Smith.

Evans said the Texas National Guard is more than willing to partner and collaborate with Bikes for Goodness Sake to continue putting smiles on the faces of children across Texas, saying it builds awareness and brings opportunities to be able to support troops and their children in other ways.