Can’d Aid Partners with 1UP USA to Get Kids on Bikes

Get kids on bikes by getting bikes on racks? That's exactly what Can’d Aid , a national nonprofit that rallies volunteers to become catalysts for change in their communities, is doing by partnering with 1UP USA , the bike carry systems manufacturer. Between June 27 and August 18, a portion of any and all 1UP USA sales will benefit Can'd Aid's Treads + Trails program, which gets bikes to kids in need.

1UP Marketing Director Kurt Barclay says the partnership started thanks to 1UP athlete Jeff Lenosky . “He’s always been a friend of the brand, and has had a significant involvement with Can’d Aid, as well,” explains Barclay. Through Jeff, the two entities started chatting, and Barclay says things lined up nicely from there. “We’re a Made in the USA brand, from a small town, and it just fits with our ethos as a company to give back to the community in this way.”

Can’d Aid founder and Executive Director Diana Hicks shares Barclay’s enthusiasm for the partnership. “It’s a really nice alignment. We’re a pretty grassroots organization getting people in different communities out to do good, and 1UP has grown organically through grassroots testimonials from customers, so it felt like a really nice opportunity for some like-minded brands to come together.”

Hicks says that, to date, Can’d Aid has built and donated more than 10,000 bikes all over the country. Because 1UP is a Wisconsin-based company, Hicks explains that this go-round, they’ll be choosing a nearby school to benefit from the fundraiser. “That way, the community members that are coming out and volunteering their time to build the bikes realize that they’re making a hyper-local impact on kids in their own community. We typically donate to an entire first grade or an entire second grade,” Hicks continues. “Or, sometimes, with a larger partnership, we donate to first and second graders.”

As for why Hicks is so committed to getting kids on bikes? “Kids now are constantly staring at smartphones and screens and I think that comes with a whole host of mental health and physical health challenges. Giving them a tool and skill and a resource to get outside and off their screens and move their bodies does so much more than help them with their physical health; it really is a tool for exploration and independence and fun.”

Barclay couldn’t agree more. “As a company supported by the community in the early days to get us to where we are now, it’s important to give back. And getting kids on bikes is obviously pretty fundamental to continuing a bike community.” Barclay adds that, for him personally, getting kids on bikes means giving them the chance to discover a sport that has now come to define him. “Biking has become my career and it’s become a huge part of who I am. Making sure it’s around long past when I’m around? That’s important. Bikes are freedom.”

To find out more about how you can support Treads + Trails through the 1UP USA and Can’d Aid partnership, head to the 1UP and Can'd Aide sites, or stop by their booth at Outerbike Crested Butte , August 16th to 18th, to chat with Can’d Aid in person during final three days of their 1UP USA fundraiser.