Get your little ones active by borrowing a bike – absolutely FREE!
Everyone’s telling parents to get their children out and about, active and using a bicycle – but what if your little ones don’t have their own bike?
We’ve found the perfect solution – because that’s where the Yorkshire Bank Bike Library scheme can help!
The scheme has a really simple aim: to give every child in Yorkshire access to a bike for free.
It believes that all children, regardless of their circumstances, should have the opportunity to ride a bike – and have a ‘wheely’ good time doing it.
So kids in Wakefield and West Yorkshire can go along to their local bike library and borrow a bike, anytime they like.
The libraries even have loads of group led activities to get your little ones started.
It’ll put a huge smile on their faces (not to mention yours, because it won’t cost you a penny!)
The first bike library opened in 2015 – only two years ago – but since then, they’ve popped up all over Yorkshire and enhanced the lives of tens of thousands of children across the county.
We know that not everyone can afford to buy a bike. To start with they’re expensive, then your kids grow out of them, and if you’ve got more than one child in your family, you’re facing paying into the hundreds of pounds – nightmare.
But with the bike library scheme, your little ones can still enjoy the chance to explore on two wheels.
You can even benefit from the libraries if you’re away from home. Say you’re on a family trip around Yorkshire and looking for a way to explore the new surroundings. Chances are, you won’t be far from a bike library as there are almost 50 across all four corners of the county. Just visit the Yorkshire Bank Bike Library website for information on all the locations.
Even if you don’t need to use one of the libraries, you might still be able to get involved and help out other children in your community.
Because anyone with an old bike they’re not using anymore can take it to a local donation station, where it’ll be spruced up and used at one of the bike libraries.
So, if your little ones are all grown up and their old bikes are taking up space in your shed, why not take it along to your local donation station and help to change the life of another child!
It’s a feel-good idea all round!
And behind the bike libraries are some heart-warming stories about people whose lives have been changed forever.
For example, one bike library is based at a primary school which helps to teach autistic children how to ride a bike for the first time; while another arranges bike rides for families of servicemen and women to help them integrate and make friends in the area.
None of these opportunities would be possible without the support of Yorkshire Bank, who have thrown their weight behind Welcome to Yorkshire’s mission to make Yorkshire the first place where nobody, regardless of their circumstances, is deprived of a bike.
There are loads of bike libraries across West Yorkshire:
For more information about the Yorkshire Bank Bike Library scheme and all the libraries in Yorkshire, visit http://bikelibraries.yorkshire.com/
