BROOKVILLE, Ohio (WDTN) — For about five years, Dave Nugent has been fixing up bikes to give away to kids who need them.
“It’s just something I do,” Nugent said. “Every year it seems like there’s more demand for it.”
In fact, demand is so high, Nugent isn’t even sure how many he’s given away.
“I quit counting this year,” Nugent said. “Last year, it was over 3,000. I’d say I’ve almost doubled it this year.”
You can imagine the time Nugent spends working on these bikes — but that’s not his only investment.
“Tubes are $5,” Nugent said. “Tires cost me about $15 to $20 a piece. So you can take a little bike and put $40 in it easy. So it costs a little bit but I enjoy doing it.”
He calls it a bicycle ministry, but says he’s the one who is really being blessed.
“I’m just tickled to death,” Nugent said. “It actually — like I tell everybody — this is my Christmas.”
Speaking of Christmas, this year, he’s doing it up big.
Parents and kids can stop by his home at 142 June Place in Brookville starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19 for a huge Christmas giveaway.
He’s not only giving away dozens of refurbished bikes, but brand new toys. He’ll also have a drawing for several new bikes, and a drawing for money from Santa for kids to use to go shopping.
The giveaway will continue until he runs out of items.
“There is a need,” Nugent said. “The way the economy is and the way money is any time you can help somebody save a little bit, it’s a good thing to do.”
Nugent says if you can’t make it out Saturday, he hopes to still have some bikes available after the big giveaway.
He prefers that parents bring the kids who will be receiving the bikes when they stop by to pick them up. Unfortunately, he’s had some people take bikes and re-sell them. He says he just wants to make sure the bikes get to the children who actually need them.
If you’d like to donate a used bicycle or parts to Nugent’s bicycle ministry, he says you can contact him on Facebook by sending him a message here.
