Channel: WPTV Channel 5
Date posted: December 18, 2010
by: Vince Norman
West Palm Beach, FL - For Jack, "The Bike Man" Hairston, getting in the holiday spirit is just like riding a bike. "I specifically remember my first bike, and riding it to the corner from where I lived, was like freedom. I'll never forget that," said Jack.
The children who've been given a very special gift this year, aren't likely to forget either. "Bicycles are a lot more important than we realize. These kids that we give these bikes to, are people who...there's a really big possibility they wouldn't have one if we were not here," said Jack.
For nearly a decade now, Jack has been repairing old bikes, so that the less fortunate children of Palm Beach County, can recapture that feeling Jack remembers so well from his youth. "I remember that. I know at some point in time, these kids will remember that there was a nice person in this world that gave them a bike. Because.....we need a lot more nice people around here," said Jack.
The bikes come in all year long, from a wide variety of sources. "A student collected over 80 bicycles. A young kid. I think he was 8 or 9 years old," said Jack.
Now, Jack, and Santa, hope to keep pedaling their bikes, to needy kids, for years to come. Jack's always grateful for the donated bikes, but in order to keep this tradition going, his organization is also in need of cash donations, to get the donated bikes in working order.
