Plum 5th-grader collecting donated bikes for children

Have an old bicycle taking up space? Then Kadence Simko wants to speak with you.

Simko, a fifth-grader at Regency Park Elementary School in Plum, is holding her second annual bicycle donation drive. It will benefit the Red Lantern Bike Shop in Braddock and is backed by the United Steel Workers Next Generation Committee.

Donations will be accepted through the end of April. Bikes of all kinds, as well as protective equipment, tires, inner tubes, pumps, skateboards and scooters are welcome.

By calling 412-823-5073, you can arrange a pickup or drop off. Items collected are stored in the Simko family's garage and then taken to the Red Lantern.

“I just think that every kid should have a bicycle for the summer or whenever to ride,” said Simko, 10.

Last year Simko racked up around 80 bicycles, plus plenty of helmets and pads.

“It was way more than I thought we would get,” she said.

Brian Sink, who runs the Red Lantern Bike Shop, was happy to get such a large haul.

“It gave us a boost,” said Sink, 40, of Braddock. “We kind of survive on big donations. Things like that give us a steady diet.”

The drive started at the beginning of April, and so far Simko said she has corralled about 25 bikes.

With the weather warming up and more people thinking spring cleaning, there has been an uptick in interest.

Once Sink gets the bikes, he tunes them up and washes them. Simko brought in a number of rides built for young children last year, a blessing for Sink.

Children's bikes don't have multiple gears and use simpler braking mechanisms, so they're much easier to turn around.

Beginning at 11 a.m. every Saturday, Sink hands out between 15 and 35 bikes free of charge to those who need them.

When the Red Lantern opened three years ago, the idea was to provide the service only for residents of Braddock. But it became popular and proved too difficult to check information on the spot, so there are no restrictions on residence.

Sink said he gave away about 1,100 bikes last year. Braddock only has a few hundred children living within its borders, so the operation had no choice but to expand.

Simko got involved through her father, Mark, who is a Next Generation Committee chairman.

She said she doesn't know how long she plans to keep the donation drive going, but her partner already is looking ahead.

“It's a pretty amazing thing she's doing,” Sink said. “We're hoping to do it a third year.”

Ed Phillipps is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.