Eugene nonprofit seeks bike donations for kids and adults in need

Residents could drop off donated bikes Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shift Community Cycles’ bike shop on West Sixth Avenue or its programming space on West Eighth Avenue in Eugene, as the nonprofit pushed to keep its Free Bikes 4 Kidz effort moving toward a 600-bike goal.

Each bike that comes through the program does more than sit in a storage rack. Volunteers clean it, refurbish it, replace missing or broken parts and then send it to a certified bike mechanic for a final safety check before it is passed along to someone who needs transportation.

Shift said demand remained strong, especially for 26-inch wheels and children’s bikes. By the time of the collection drive, the organization said it had already given away 150 bikes in 2026, a sign that the need is outpacing the supply coming in from garages, basements and sheds across Lane County.

The nonprofit says the impact reaches well beyond one weekend. Shift Community Cycles describes itself as Lane County’s only community bike shop and bicycle resource center, and says its refurbished-bike model helps residents who otherwise could not afford a bike. Those bicycles can mean a way to get to school, work, errands or recreation without relying on a car or an expensive repair bill.

The local Free Bikes 4 Kidz chapter was founded in 2018 and serves the Eugene-Springfield area. On its site, Shift listed the chapter at 127 bikes out of 600 as of March 31, showing how far the organization still had to go to meet this year’s target.

Shift says its larger mission is to build mobility and skills in Eugene and Lane County, with a goal of making the region world-class bicycle-friendly communities by 2050. Its bike shop sells refurbished bicycles built from community donations, a model that keeps usable bikes in circulation instead of letting them sit unused or head to the dump.

The group also asked for volunteers of all skill levels, including cleaners and mechanics, to help keep the repair pipeline moving. For a nonprofit built on donated parts, volunteer labor and neighborhood support, one unused bike can quickly become a child’s first dependable ride.