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Community Corner

Community Activities of Northbrook Sponsors Bike Donation Drive at YMCA

A teen organization that builds social connections while also helping the community is hosting its first major event this weekend, with a grassroots effort that has the potential to improve lives around the world. Community Activities of Northbrook (“CAN”) will hold a bike donation drive on Sunday, October 13 from 10:00am to 2:00pm to benefit Working Bikes, a Chicago-based organization that refurbishes and delivers bicycles to individuals in need. The bikes provide these recipients with essential transportation to work, school, and other necessities. The bike drive will be held at the North Suburban YMCA, 2705 Techny Road in Northbrook.

CAN evolved from a youth group sponsored in the past by the Northbrook Citizens for Drug and Alcohol Awareness (NCDAA). When NCDAA merged over the summer with the North Suburban Y, students in the group opted to expand its mission beyond its focus on substance abuse education. “We were looking for a way to bring more kids together, especially people who otherwise wouldn’t know each other,” explained Jonah Fialkow, a junior at Glenbrook North High School. “We wanted to plan events that would be fun and social, and also have service projects that help the community.”

Fialkow learned about Working Bikes over the summer, and suggested a bike drive as a launch event for the new CAN. Since 1998, Working Bikes has donated refurbished bikes to people in need both in the US and internationally. According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, in 2012 it distributed approximately 6,500 bicycles to charities in Illinois, disaster-impacted regions in the US, and organizations in countries  including Ghana, Cuba, Kenya, El Salvador, Peru, and Angola. The group accepts any bike size and condition, with bike repairs completed by volunteers at the non-profit’s shop in Chicago.

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NSYMCA Membership Director Sari Glazebrook, who also directs the former NCDAA programs, is excited by the new direction CAN is taking. “These students are promoting positive events that will bring teens together at the Y and in the larger community,” she commented. “We’re proud of the efforts they’ve made to help Working Bikes, and hope that it will be the first of many successful activities.”

After the bike drive, CAN is laying plans for future events, including a paintball tournament in early 2014. Fialkow encourages teens to follow the group’s Facebook page for details about the Bike Drive and other upcoming activities. For more information about CAN, contact Sari Glazebrook at sglazebrook@nsymca.org.

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About the North Suburban YMCA

The North Suburban YMCA is a not-for-profit entity and relies on donations to fund capital improvements and transform the facility. All board members are community volunteers, who donate their time, talents and financial resources.  Located at 2705 Techny Road in Northbrook, the YMCA has served area families in its fifteen-city region for over 40 years.  The Y is about youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility, providing programs and services that meet the needs of our community and are accessible to all.  For more information or to make a donation, call Barb Flanagin at 847-272-7250, bflanagin@nsymca.org, or visit www.nsymca.org.

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