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6 | October 11, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger news<br />
mokenamessenger.com<br />
Mokena resident donates refurbished bikes to families in need<br />
Megan Schuller<br />
Freelance reporter<br />
Bike riding around the<br />
local neighborhood is a<br />
staple of many childhood<br />
memories, as much as trading<br />
training wheels in for a<br />
two-wheel bike is a rite of<br />
passage. Not all children get<br />
to share this experience due<br />
to financial hardships within<br />
their family. Mokena native<br />
Ron Kittler, owner of FnA<br />
Bicycles/FnA Outdoors in<br />
New Lenox, is working to<br />
change that.<br />
“Donating a bike can<br />
change a life,” Kittler said.<br />
“When we were kids that’s<br />
all we’d think about. We had<br />
our bikes and that was it.<br />
A lot of kids unfortunately<br />
don’t have that.”<br />
Kittler’s bicycle shop has<br />
been in business since 2012<br />
at 1303 S. Schoolhouse<br />
Road after seeing a need for<br />
a bicycle repair shop in the<br />
community. It wasn’t until<br />
2017 that he added outdoor<br />
equipment like kayaks to his<br />
shop. He often gets bikes<br />
donated that people have<br />
outgrown, so he has made<br />
it his mission to give these<br />
donated bikes new life with<br />
a safety tune up and a new<br />
home.<br />
Lead social worker in<br />
D122 Sue Francimore said<br />
that the 30 bikes donated by<br />
Kittler in late September will<br />
help 15 families. Bikes were<br />
donated in an array of sizes<br />
for both students and their<br />
parents.<br />
“Having a bike as a child<br />
is something so many of us<br />
take for granted,” Francimore<br />
said. “It’s such a positive<br />
thing to build family relationships.”<br />
Kittler said that fixing up<br />
and donating used bicycles<br />
is a rewarding way of giving<br />
Some of the more than 30 bikes that were donated in late<br />
September.<br />
back to the community. He<br />
said that the bikes are donated<br />
to people that wouldn’t<br />
otherwise be able to afford<br />
them, which increases accessibility<br />
to be active and outdoors<br />
together as a family or<br />
with friends.<br />
“A bike is not a financial<br />
priority. We make it a priority<br />
so the families can work<br />
together as a family unit and<br />
ride together,” Kittler said.<br />
More than 300 bikes have<br />
been donated throughout the<br />
local and Chicagoland area<br />
by Kittler’s shop in the past<br />
few years. He has donated<br />
to the school districts within<br />
the community, as well as<br />
Ron Kittler, Mokena Resident and owner of FnA Bicycles/<br />
FnA Outdoors in New Lenox, unloads more than 30 bikes<br />
that his shop donated to families in D122. Photos by Megan<br />
Schuller/22nd Century Media<br />
organizations such as Big<br />
Brothers Big Sisters, All<br />
God’s People and the local<br />
Mokena Marley Frankfort<br />
FISH Resale Store.<br />
“It’s such an opportunity<br />
for our lower income families<br />
who are struggling,”<br />
Francimore said. “As a social<br />
worker, we love to help<br />
in any way we can. I like<br />
to imagine families riding<br />
around together, which is<br />
something they haven’t been<br />
Please see donate, 8<br />
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