Turning Points, the Bradenton nonprofit known for helping neighbors get back on their feet, distributed 800 bikes to community members over the past year. Those bikes aren’t recreational. They’re transportation. They get people to job shifts, medical appointments, and grocery runs when a car isn’t an option and the bus doesn’t reach.
The program’s impact hits close to home for staff member Robert Edwards. He started at Turning Points as a volunteer and once dealt with a commute that made everyday life harder than it should have been. Now a person service coordinator, Edwards says he wants others to find the same stability a reliable ride gave him. Margi Dawson, the nonprofit’s director of development, says demand hasn’t slowed, and that’s why they’re putting out the call for more donated bikes.
Donations are accepted at Turning Points on 17th Avenue West in Bradenton. If you’ve got a bike in the garage that hasn’t been ridden in a while, this is a simple way to help a neighbor. No middleman, no red tape. Just a bike that goes to someone who needs it. Have you ever depended on a bike to get where you needed to go? Share your story in the comments.
