Bob Johnson got fed up in 2019 and decided to do something about it.
Bob is retired and lives in Norfolk. He is accustomed to seeing people on the roadways of his hometown, holding makeshift signs asking for work or money… but in 2019, he decided he was going to find out about the homeless population, which seemed to be growing before his eyes. He figured that learning how they got there could aid in some way to help them off the street. His research led him to an important discovery– that in many cases, providing a means of transportation is the way out of homelessness. And with that realization, 757 Bike Mission was born.
With a bike,
you can get to a job, the doctor’s office, school, the grocery store. Reliable transportation makes for a reliable employee. Reliable employees are able to rent housing. There’s a ripple effect associated with the gift of a bike.
Bob has been changing the trajectory of people’s lives, one bike at a time, since October 2019. He refurbished and donated 49 bikes his first year; last year he gave away 149. He’s already given away 32 bikes this month to over 5 area nonprofits, including HELP. The impact is profound, and immediate, to our clients who are struggling to get to work on the bus or on foot.
We can’t wait to present these bikes to their new owners.
To learn more about Bob’s work with 757 Bike Mission, click here.
