Chet Wright is a retired electrician in Las Cruces who says he had “an idea rolling around in his head” to salvage and repair local bicycles and get them into the hands of needy kids. One day as he was dropping off scrap metal at the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA), he saw a bike in the scrap metal recycling pile. That idea that had been rolling around in his head became a repaired bike now rolling around a Juarez neighborhood under the kid power of a young person.
Wright’s “Bikes for Juarez” program was born in January of this year and he has now partnered with the SCSWA. If you bring in bikes to the Recycling Center at 2855 W. Amador Avenue – it doesn’t matter how badly damaged they are – SCSWA staff is setting them aside for Wright’s Bikes for Juarez program.
Wright has bike repair experience thanks to his Condor BikeWorks business. And he is not flying solo in the effort to get bikes to needy families in Juarez. He has joined forces with Jane Fuller, known as “La Gringa” in Juarez. She is Executive Director of the 501(c)(3) non-profit Siguiendo los Pasos de Jesús. (More information at www.SPJinc.org or https://www.facebook.com/SPJcares/)
In Juarez, Fuller is building simple houses for families, bringing in medical volunteers… and now she’s distributing bicycles. “Oh my!” she notes, “the kids are starting to go nuts over the bicycles.” In one family, three kids are sharing a small bike. In another, a young teen brings his recycled bike inside the new house when he’s not riding it; he will not leave the precious gift outside.
Another local partner for the recycled bike effort is Outdoor Adventures in Las Cruces; frequently, Wright says, they donate trade-in bikes to the program as well as provide bike parts at discounted prices for bike repairs. Wright also works with
the Las Cruces Optimist Club to provide bikes for the “Earn a Bike” Program.
Wright stresses, “It does not matter what condition the bikes are in; we can repair
almost anything or use the parts to repair other bikes. A lot of people donate
bikes when they know about the program and almost everyone has a bike in their
garage that they haven’t ridden in years.” So far this year Wright has delivered 58
bikes to Juarez, and by the end of the year, he plans to have 120 recycled bikes
ready to roll and in the hands of needy kids. For more info, or to donate visit https://www.facebook.com/CondorBikeworks or call 575-993-0067.
Green Connections is submitted by the South Central Solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) managing solid waste, recyclables, and working to stop illegal dumping for residents and businesses throughout Doña Ana County. Contact the SCSWA at (575) 528-3800 or visit www.SCSWA.net.