Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
When Jasper Lions Club suffered a shortage of people to work on bikes for their annual auction, the Jasper Bike Rescue team stepped in.
Every year, the Lions sell reconditioned bicycles to raise money for community initiatives and organizations.
In years gone by, the club picked up bikes left behind on public property by seasonal workers, and were donated bikes by residents and businesses. Club members then repaired the bikes to sell in the annual live auction.
The bike auction is one of the Lions Club's most important annual fundraisers. Dave Neilson, the branch鈥檚 vice-president, said the event makes an average profit of about $6,000 each year.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, that fundraiser didn't happen.
That's where Jasper Bike Rescue fits in.
Chris Isbister runs Jasper Bike Rescue with Beth McLachlan. The business started last fall when they started collecting bikes that had been left at the dump, fixing them up and posting them for sale online.
Earlier this year, Neilson told Isbister there was a shortage of people in the Lions club to fix the bikes, due to COVID-19. He talked with Isbister about taking on repairs and sales of bikes that were intended for the auction this year.
Isbister said he liked the idea, and the Lions Club gave many of the bikes they had collected to Jasper Bike Rescue, which the company repaired and sold.
In turn, Jasper Bike Rescue presented a portion of the sales - $2,000 in total - to the Jasper Lions Club.
"It was an unexpected [donation] for the club," Neilson said.
"I would like to give a huge thank you for supporting our organization, and filling in the gap left by not having a bike auction this year."
The donated money is a portion of proceeds from sales of second hand bikes that were originally intended for the club's annual live bike auction.
Money raised in the auctions goes to a number of organizations including Victims of Violence, the Yellowhead Women's Shelter; Jasper Municipal Library, Camp He Ho Ha, (also known as Camp Health, Hope & Happiness) which supports people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities, the Stollery Children's Hospital and the Lions Dog Guide Training Centre. Funds are used for scholarships too.
