SLO County sheriff seeks donations for Christmas bike drive

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office is seeking donations to support its annual Christmas Bike Program, in which Honor Farm inmates assemble and refurbish donated bicycles to gift to county children as part of the Christmas Bicycle Giveaway in December.

The program was established 28 years ago and is currently seeking helmet donations for the Christmas Bicycle Giveaway to be held at 10 a.m. Dec. 15 at the County Jail Honor Farm parking lot.

An early kickoff event also is scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market, according to a news release.

The Sandlot Group, a local non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of sport and overall health for youth in the community, has agreed to purchase $10,000 worth of bikes from Art’s Cyclery and will be donating them to the Sheriff’s Office Bicycle Program.

The Sheriff’s Office has also partnered with Bike SLO County, which provided a professional bike mechanic to mentor the Honor Farm inmates on repairing bicycles.

Bike SLO County will be on site at the Dec. 15 event to provide helmet adjustments and talk to children about bike safety.

The Sheriff’s Office is no longer accepting adult bicycles and will take only youth bikes, the release said.

Monetary contributions can be made by sending a check to the Sheriff’s Advisory Council, Attn: Bicycle Fund, P.O. Box 3752, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.

To enter a child in need of a bicycle into the giveaway, email Sgt. Matt Andrews at mandrews@co.slo.ca.us for an application. Applications are due by Nov. 30.

This story was originally published November 10, 2017 at 11:34 AM with the headline "SLO County sheriff seeks donations for Christmas bike drive."