Wheels for Kids gives 6,000th bike | News

It’s raining on a cool February morning, but not enough to dampen Lisa Terfehr’s smile.

This is a delivery day, when she’ll haul 20 bicycles refurbished by Wheels for Kids to Owl & Panther, and then to Interfaith Community Services. Each recipient gets a free bike, a helmet and a lock.

“I have the best job in Wheels for Kids,” said Terfehr, community outreach coordinator for the all-volunteer group that collects, refines and distributes bicycles to children and needy people.

“We get to deliver the bikes, and there are always smiles and hugs,” she said. “It’s so rewarding. We’re definitely making a difference in a lot of people’s lives. It brings joy to so many people.”

Wheels for Kids, a unit within the Vistoso Cyclists Bicycling Club in Sun City Oro Valley, recently delivered its 6,000th bicycle. In 2025, Wheels for Kids refurbished and distributed 625 bikes.

“We donate the bikes to organizations, nonprofits, with our primary focus (on) kids and families,” Terfehr said. The list of partner organizations is now 25, among them Owl & Panther, which serves refugee children and their families in Tucson.

Terfehr stood in one of three Wheels for Kids storage containers placed in the maintenance yard at Sun City Oro Valley. The homeowners’ association donates space for the containers, and the use of a truck. “We’re very, very grateful to them,” Terfehr said.

Parts, tires, wheels, helmets and tire pumps fill one container. Another houses bikes in need of attention. More bikes in a third, all hanging by a back wheel off ceiling hooks, ready to brighten a child’s life.

“To think this started in someone’s garage,” Terfehr said.

That was Dick Swain’s garage, in 2007. Swain, who passed away in early 2023, had a vision: “To put a smile on the face of kids who didn’t think they would ever get to experience the joy of riding their own bike.

“Everybody remembers their first bike,” Terfehr said, quoting Swain.

Others joined Swain. Over 18 years, Wheels for Kids has grown into a properly lubricated machine, with 45 volunteers doing all the different tasks. Work is divided according to people’s skills, interests, and time.

“It really is a supply chain,” Terfehr said. “A lot of people are dedicated to their piece of it. Some say ‘I just want to be a mechanic. I want to help in some way’.”

Under the tutelage of head mechanic Ernie Fisher, those mechanics “are well-skilled,” Terfehr said. When bikes are finished, “they look like they’re brand new.”

Mechanics have told her – “when I work on bikes, I think of my grandchildren.”

Do you have a bike to donate?

 Wheels for Kids needs more bikes.

“Donations have cut back,” Terfehr said. “Right now, we’re OK, but we’re flat, and the demand continues. We need bikes to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Volunteers will pick up a bike someone wants to donate. Donors can also drop off bikes at six locations, most of them bicycle shops across the region.

“It’s a good way for people to donate bikes,” Terfehr said. “We’ll take it, refurbish it,” and give it to a child.

Wheels for Kids could use cash donations, too. Each year, it spends thousands of dollars to buy parts, locks and helmets, the latter “the most expensive” item, running north of $50 each, Terfehr said. And, periodically, Wheels for Kids will buy new bikes from Walmart.

For more info, visit azwfk.org.