‘Change somebody’s life’: Ministry rehabs used bikes for people in need

MONROE, N.C. — Tom Williamson’s garage is full of bicycles. In nearly every corner, there are bike parts, tools and old bikes waiting to become new again.

It’s part of his Ride Again Bicycle Ministry, where he rehabs used bikes and gives them to people in need.

“One of the guys that are going to get these bikes spends an hour and a half on a bus and then has a 30-minute walk once he gets off his bus, you know, to the end to get to work. And he does that every day,” Williamson told Channel 9.

After five years and 375 donated bikes, those kinds of stories are endless.

“I gave a lady a bike, and she was telling me how she was getting to work already, and she was using an Uber. So the first two hours she gets to work and starts working, those first two hours go to pay for her to get to and from work.”

The recipients are often unhoused, in transitional housing, or in recovery from addiction. The bikes provide a lifeline.

“For a lot of our clients, their world is going to be limited to where they can get on two feet,” says Victoria Robinson.

Robinson works for the Community Shelter of Union County - where there’s little public transit. It’s one of many organizations that receive Williamson’s bikes.

“Being able to have a bike makes it where they can get access to either better job. They can make it to doctor’s appointments, they can actually just go to job interviews,” says Robinson.

Tom is an avid cyclist himself and started this as a way to help his community.

“That simple donation is - it will, it can change somebody’s life,” he says.

If you’d like to donate a bike, you can contact the ministry by clicking this link.

(VIDEO: Ministry works with food truck to give free meals to families in need)