Bikes empower local students

The latest donation in a years-long initiative between Victoria Police in Shepparton, Shepparton Central Rotary Club, the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District and Leading Edge Cycles will see three restored bicycles gifted to students at the Shepparton English Language Centre.

Earlier this year, Shepparton police donated the unclaimed bikes, which were then taken to Brett Lancaster at Leading Edge Cycles for repairs that are funded by Shepparton Central Rotary Club.

“Rotary works on a lot of projects across the world, but we are focused on supporting the local community now,” club president Allen Gale said.

SELC co-ordinator principal Laurie Hucker said he worked with a welfare officer to determine who would receive the bikes.

“The last student who received one was responsible for doing a lot in her family,” Mr Hucker said.

“It gave her freedom.”

Mr Hucker said the bikes provided a mode of transport to people who lived in more isolated areas where bus services didn’t reach, allowing them to more quickly get staples such as milk and bread, run other errands or get themselves to and from school.

“Some students’ primary caregivers aren’t their biological parents, whose resources are already used up paying for items for their own kids,” he said.

Mr Hucker said with bus travel free for all next year, giving more kids bikes might help potential overcrowding on buses and would help kids who had to wait long periods after school finished for their buses to arrive to get home quicker.

“We appreciate the generosity of people donating bikes,” he said.

Shepparton police multicultural liaison officer Leading Senior Constable Leigh Johnson said that when bikes were handed in to police, found dumped or recovered after being stolen, police carried out a process to locate their owners.

If the bikes remain unclaimed after that process, they are then donated.

The bikes were presented to SELC representatives on December 19 at the Ethnic Council in Shepparton.

Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District chief executive Sam Atukorala said they would make a meaningful difference to the recipients.

“We believe that this initiative will have a positive impact on the lives of the young people at SELC,” Mr Atukorala said.

“Not only providing them with a means of transportation but also promoting active lifestyles.”