by Ron Corio
Groundwork RVA received a $1,500 RABA Grant for the purchase of parts and supplies for the Charlie Thomas Bike Repair Shop to open soon at the Bellemeade Park in South Richmond.
Groundwork RVA is a volunteer, non-profit Richmond organization whose purpose is the building of trails, planting of trees, turning vacant lots into gardens, and creating vibrant neighborhood green spaces within underserved and economically challenged neighborhoods.
The grant request, written by Bob Argabright, will support the Charlie Thomas Bike Repair Shop project. Argabright and Thomas have been collecting and repairing bikes to be given to the children in the Oak Grove –Bellemeade community. There have been over 250 bikes distributed to date . Another 200 will be distributed in April and May. This bike repair shop will be stocked with parts, tools, bike stands and other supplies . The repair shop will be open on the weekends . The young bike riders and adults will be taught to repair their bikes . They will pay for their parts by doing community service in the Park adjacent to the shop.
The purpose of project, which will benefit 700 children and their families, is to engage the children in repairing their bikes, promote community service, and promote bicycling in the community. All the students will be biking and walking to school in the fall of 2017.
The RABA Grant Program, established in 2013, has awarded $19,240 in grants to date. Grants are available to non-profit organizations for projects that promote bicycling in the Greater Richmond Area. The grant guidelines and application are available at http://www.raba.org/raba-grants/.
Members are encouraged to get the word out to non-profit organizations about the availability of grants for projects that promote bicycling.
The Grant Committee members are: Jesse Archer, Gregg Hillmar, Grace Silverstein, Mary Lynn White, and Ron Corio.