Pat Simmons founded Bikes for Christ in 2016 with a commitment to helping those in need while also sharing the love of God. The organization provides transportation to people across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco counties, and in impoverished countries like Guatamala, Haiti, and Malawi. Bikes for Christ shows God’s love through providing bicycles.
Simmons, a 1986 Plant City High School graduate, got serious about cycling in 2010, and has been an avid rider since then. “Then I took a mission trip in 2015 to Nicaragua,” he said. “I saw what real poverty was, and I wanted to come back to where I was born and raised and do something. I was able to combine my love of cycling with something that actually had a purpose, and be able to have that Gospel element in there as well, because with every bike we send out, we also send a Gospel of John and a plan of salvation along with it.”
Annie is a veteran that got a Bikes for Christ bicycle through the HUD-VASH Program provided through James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. “Wow! What a Blessing from GOD!” Annie wrote. “I am so thankful the four-and-a-half-month journey of waking up early in the morning at 0530 to walk one hour and thirty-minutes to work has finally come to an end….Thank you Bikes For Christ for your generosity and all you do to keep our community mobile. GOD bless you!”
Bikes for Christ gives 500 bicycles per year. The way the organization works is they take in donated bicycles, refurbish them, and then give them away. “It is structured. That is the one thing that makes us different from a lot of the other organizations,” Simmons said. There is a vetting process in place. “Our main focus is veterans that are trying to reestablish themselves and get back on their feet, underprivileged kids because every kid deserves a bicycle, and anyone who is in need and is trying to make good decisions to improve their circumstances.”
“Quincy was released from the Florida Department of Corrections in mid-August of 2023,” Steven, from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Re-Entry team, said. “Since then, he has gone above and beyond to redeem his quality of life. He helps his ailing mother out at home and financially. He is now working two jobs. He has been a stellar success to date, and the bike from Bikes For Christ will be absolutely essential to help him get to and from work, as well as freeing up time and funds to help his mother. Thank you Bikes for Christ.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Bikes for Christ is a 501c(3) tax exempt organization, so donations are tax deductible. The organization’s greatest need is monetary gifts. Funds are always needed for equipment and parts to make donated bicycles like new again, and for Bibles and other scriptural literature to hand out along with the bikes.
Checks can be mailed to: Bikes For Christ, 2500 Al Simmons Rd, Dover, FL 33527
The organization has other ways to help out. “We always have a need for volunteers,” Simmons said. “Currently we have an opportunity with two of our local chambers for people to serve as representatives for Bikes for Christ. We also need event volunteers and bike mechanics. It takes a lot of people to keep this going.”
Used bikes can be dropped off in Plant City at Advantage Restoration & Contracting, 607 Hitchcock St. #105 Phone: 813-616-5183.
More information about Bikes for Christ can be found at:
1-813-533-9177