Young people are putting their new found bicycle maintenance skills to work to help the Swansea‘s Mr X Christmas appeal.
Teenagers from the Swansea Youth Offending Service’s Youth Justice Centre are transforming bikes recovered by police to their former glory in aid of the appeal which provides gifts for more than 4,000 local children in need.
The Centre helps young people at risk steer their future away from crime and, as part of that work, it has been offering young people the chance to gain an Open College Network (OCN) qualification in Bicycle Maintenance. The aim is to give them a skill which they can use in their everyday life and also to help their communities.
The project involves repairing and restoring bicycles and unclaimed stolen or recovered bicycles. The bikes were donated by Chief Superintendent Mark Matthias through South Wales Police in partnership with Mr Clive Edwards, Officer in Charge at Swansea Junior Mixed Attendance Centre whose young people also worked on the bikes.
To date 15 bikes are being repaired and restored and will now all be donated to the Swansea Mr X Christmas Appeal.
Youth Justice Centre Manager Rob Richard said: “For lots of children getting a bicycle for Christmas is a dream beyond their reach because of the expense. The young people here are working hard on the bikes to make Christmas extra special this year for local children for whom a bike was beyond their wildest Christmas wishes.
“The young people have also had the opportunity of developing and improving their skill base which they can transfer into every day life and have benefited from one to one mentoring and support from staff.”
Swansea Council’s Road Safety Team have also donated cycle helmets and cycle safe goodies to this year’s appeal. Jeff Green, County Road Safety Officer, said: “We are delighted to be involved with this appeal because correctly fitted and worn cycle helmets can reduce the risk of serious head injury. We would also urge all cyclists to wear bright, light and reflective clothing whilst on their bicycles.”
