Getting kids on the right path in life is an important role and there's a program that's doing it by giving kids experiences that will last a lifetime, and it all has to do with bikes. Our friends at the Ford Motor Company Fund and Back Alley Bikes are making it possible. We were joined in the studio by co-director of Back Alley Bikes, Jeffery Getten and two students taking part in the program, Montez and Dontez to tell us more about it.
Getten said that a year ago he was invited to Frec City opening night and they they saw a demand in the area for bikes. Back Alley Bikes has been around for 20 years and Frec invited them back to do a program. Montez and Dontez showed us how they would check the bike by looking at the pedals, brakes and tires.
Getten said that these kinds of skills give children empowerment. The program with Back Alley Bikes is a three week program and they go through everything from flat changes, breake adjustments and more.
Pamela Alexander, the Director Of Community Development with the Ford Motor Company Fund joined us to tell why it's important to support the program. Alexander says it's important to invest in the youth, and they have been investing in youth for 100 years. Alexander says that Frec City is the Ford Resource and Engagement Center, and this bike program is one of their many programs.
Back Alley Bikes also has a fundraising program coming up, it will be their eighth year called Bike The Blizzard. It starts at Midnight Jan. 20 and finishes on Martin Luther King Day. For more information on all of the programs and the fundraiser event go to https://www.freccity.org/ or http://thehubofdetroit.org/.