Cory's Story

Donation Recipient: Bikes for Kids

The first few weeks of the HHF "challenge" I remember alternating between thoughts of fear and annoyance. Fear because when you are in the company of thoughtful, creative people with the same challenge in mind, you don't want to come up short with your idea. Annoyance because the more I freaked about coming up short, the more I was annoyed that this "challenge" entered my life and was breaking my comfort zones.

After wrestling with these two emotions (is annoyance an emotion?) for well over a month, something else started to bother me. It was a simple but profound truth: So far it has been all about me.

Sometimes truths like that will knock the air out of you, and I'd like to say coming to that realization pushed all selfishness into selflessness. Unfortunately I'm well trained in selfishness, so it isn't quite that easy. But small paradigms did begin to shift.

Thoughts of who I could realistically benefit started becoming larger than my need to have a great idea.

Thoughts of how I've been helped by others inconveniencing themselves became larger than the seeming inconvenience of this challenge.

From that moment on the research became more exciting and less frustrating. I began more brainstorming and consulting with friends and family. Ideas bounced around here and there, and if they didn't seem right, they were easily let go. Eventually after looking here and there for ideas, one more vast simplification smacked me in the face: How have I been blessed?

Now I know what you're thinking: Great, now the focus is selfish again. But this was less selfishness and more reflection. What do I like to do? What was I able to do growing up without financial restraint? Have I ever been given anything? What makes up my fondest childhood memories?

One day I was bouncing around the HHF challenge in my head, and I started thinking about the "Founding Members" it lists on the letter. For no particular reason, other than I think it's cool I have a friend on TV, my thoughts rested on San Diego's own Artie Ojeda. I had been checking all sorts of community blogs and websites for ideas so when I thought of Artie I decided to check the NBC 7/39 website. Surely they have some sort of community tab listing volunteer or charity opportunities. As I scrolled along the community calendar I came across a program with a simple name: Bikes for Kids. It was a simple program NBC and the Salvation Army had put together to donate bikes for underprivileged children. I paused for a moment to reflect once again.

I love to ride my bike. I loved riding my bike as a kid. I never had to worry about not having bike. When I got my first bike, I'm sure my eyes lit up.

As I continued reading about the program, I realized that not only do the kids get the bike at school, but NBC 7/39 comes and tapes it for broadcast on TV!

Sold. What is cooler than seeing yourself on TV? I'm still stoked about the Cheetah-casts at 7/39 for HTC. I can't imagine being a kid on TV, that kicks ass!

So in the blink of an eye, I finally had my idea. I called Marie at the Salvation army and got the standard age and usual bike measurements for the eligible children. She said the teachers typically choose who should receive a bike each week. She said many times children are from low-income families, and the bikes are a way to show the children that their hard work in school is paying off. I asked what the response was like and she said it has been very positive. She also said I could bring a bike down anytime.

After we hung up I jumped on target.com to look at kids bikes. I had no idea how much a kids bike cost, and I didn't really care, but wouldn't ya know it? They average around $100.

A few days later I went down to Target to physically look at bikes. I remember being in kind of a bad mood that day; a mood only accelerated by having people cut me off and almost wreck me on the freeway. Amazing when you set off with good intentions, the forces of darkness really malign against you. By the grace of God I didn't die and finally made it to the store. Anger slowly subsiding, I made my way to the sporting good section. This is where the fun began.

Boy or girl? Street bike or mountain bike? What color?

It was really in these moments that the spirit of giving started taking over. I decided first of all that I would buy for a boy because -- and I can verify this if needed -- I am a boy. I also went with my first type of bike as a kid, a BMX type single gear. Because my current bike set-up is red, black, and silver, I found a bike of the same color. The bike has front and rear pegs for grinding, and street tires for freestyle tricks. But if he is going to be going extreme, he is going to need a helmet. Not just any helmet mind you, but a red mongoose freestyle helmet that matches the bike. If he's going to ride, he'll do it in style. And if he has a tricked out helmet, you might as well throw in the 8-ball screw caps for the valve stems to set yourself apart.

After getting the entire package together, I rolled out the door and headed for the Salvation army. I pumped the tires up on the bike (not breaking the valve stems, thank you) and rolled in to meet Marie face to face. She was VERY excited about the bike and knew the kid was going to love it. We stood for a few minutes just chatting about the program, how I knew Artie, and how the presentation of the bike would go down. I told her it must be awesome to see the expression on the face of the kid when the bike is unveiled. She told me if I liked I could come down with Whitney (from NBC) and be part of the presentation. I said sure. She will be calling me to let me know an exact date; they are currently backed up until the first of March.

So there it is. Simple, but hopefully effective and in the spirit of what the HHF is trying to accomplish. My hope is that not just the bike (which kicks ass by the way) but the simple act of being recognized gives the recipient a sense of self worth.

Maybe some day he'll be challenged to give and think about when he received his shiny new bike.

Cory