One of the greatest privileges of working at the Lincoln Bike Kitchen isn't just seeing bicycles change lives.
It's seeing the incredible generosity of the people who make it all possible.
Nearly every week, someone contacts us wanting to help. Sometimes it's a business. Sometimes it's a family. Sometimes it's someone cleaning out their garage with a bicycle to donate.
And sometimes it's something completely unexpected.
Recently, I received an email from a member of a local Random Acts of Kindness group. Each month, their members choose a nonprofit to support. This month, they reached out to learn more about Lincoln Bike Kitchen and asked a simple question:
"If our group donated $500, about how many bicycles would that help put into the community?"
The amount was generous, of course. But what struck me most wasn't the dollar figure.
It was that a group of neighbors had organized themselves simply to make someone else's life a little better.
That happens here. A lot.
Earlier this spring, during the Give to Lincoln Day celebration, Michelle Paulk of the Lincoln Community Foundation commented on how remarkably generous our community is. Looking around, I saw nearly all heads nodding in agreement. Those of us who work in nonprofits see it every day.
People in Lincoln don't wait to be asked.
They volunteer.
They donate bicycles.
They give financially.
They connect us with friends.
They share our stories.
They believe that helping someone they've never met is simply the right thing to do.
At the Lincoln Bike Kitchen, we have the privilege of witnessing that generosity transformed into opportunity. A donated bicycle becomes transportation to work. A child receives a bike for the first time. A family gains one less financial burden. Every helmet, every lock, every repaired bicycle exists because someone in this community cared enough to help.
We're certainly grateful for every gift we receive, whether it's $5, $500, or a gently used bicycle that's been sitting in a garage.
But even more than that, we're grateful to call Lincoln home.
Communities aren't defined by their buildings or their streets. They're defined by the people who live there.
If our experience is any indication, Lincoln is filled with people who quietly and consistently look for ways to lift others up.
That's something worth celebrating.
To everyone who has donated a bicycle, volunteered in the shop, made a financial gift, attended one of our events, or simply encouraged our mission—thank you.
You are what makes Lincoln such a special place.
