I live in a small county (Hood River County, Oregon) that is mostly rural with many fruit orchards, pear, apple, cherry. Several packing plants support that agricultural base. Our year-round population is approximately 32% Latino, mostly immigrants who came to work in agriculture, in the orchards, and the packing plants. Work is plentiful, but hard, and the wages are low. The goal is to eventually move off the farm and get an apartment or modest home closer to daily life necessities – groceries, doctors, other stores, and services. Often, the first-generation immigrants remained Spanish speakers and relied on their kids to help navigate the system.
Like the story of many immigrant groups that came to America, the first generation worked hard, spoke their native language mostly, sacrificed to give their children a chance for a better future, and the family was the nucleus of life. The second-generation spoke more fluent English, became better educated and affluent than their parents, moved off and away from the farming communities, and became successful. It is the quintessential American Dream and the promise of it was alive where I live.
Then something happened that disrupted this cycle. The economy started shifting to a tourism and recreation-based one. The demand for low-wage service workers boomed and there was more employment diversity, such as restaurant workers (usually in the kitchen), and hotel help (usually cleaning) among other tourism, recreation, and related service businesses. Agriculture is still a strong foundation to the economy but it is part of a more diversified one today.
Hood River was a natural to become a strong tourist destination. Four-season recreation, the stunning natural setting, and the historic charm of its namesake town all contributed to the allure. No one, however, predicted the massive amount of money that would follow the people who came to visit. Small businesses serving local needs gave way to highly specialized ones that catered to the tourist, expensive bicycle shops and windsurfing stores, tony restaurants, wine bars, chic boutiques, wedding destination venues, expensive hotels, and the like.
Inevitably, many tourists came to stay and bought second homes bidding up the prices of housing beyond what local people could afford. It was estimated a few years ago that it took more than six (6) times the average local income to buy a house making it one of the most unaffordable places to live in Oregon. Many of these second homes were unoccupied most of the year, mainly on weekends and in the summer and winter seasons. A term was coined, 'dark streets', an accurate description of neighborhoods that were dark because few people were home.
It was hard on many of us who lived here, including the Latino population. Today there is no such thing as an entry-level house, or apartment, cheap groceries and much of their income has to be dedicated to housing, with little left for the children and amenities. Many multi-generational families are living together in two (2) and three (3) bedroom homes, with family members often sleeping on a couch. It has become a very important issue in our town and many service agencies are trying to solve some of the problems.
I got involved with a non-profit organization that happened to have a bike to give away. My good friend, Silvan, and I decided we wanted to help the non-profit organization give more than just one (1) bike away. We began a fundraising drive. We wanted to help children whose families could not afford to buy them a bike. Many of the children we encountered never had a bike, and in one situation five (5) children had to share one (1) bike.
We sponsored a coloring contest and sent the entry forms to those schools and services where we knew the underprivileged children would have an opportunity to see the forms and fill one out. We received many entries and most of the entry forms came from children who were of Latino heritage and lived in rural areas. We had to be completely fair, so we picked entries randomly, and to our surprise, most of the children selected never owned a bike before first, and most came from a Latino family.
We contacted the families and went to the children’s schools, something that was a familiar place. Typically, both parents usually came along too. We made a point to just have one person go out at a time to the school to present the bike so as not to overwhelm the children and to be able to have a one-on-one conversation with the parents. We did not want praise for the efforts, only quiet recognition which we would use to validate this worthwhile program as we continued our fundraising efforts.
The year after the bike giveaway we were contacted by a middle school surrounded by agricultural lands in Hood River County. They had a bike club where kids, mainly boys, learned to work on, take care of, and ride their bikes on the forest trails of the county. Not every boy had a bike, so we again, raised funds to purchase bikes. We were able to buy nine (9) bikes in 2020 which was nothing short of a miracle because there had been a bike shortage during the pandemic.
The pride of ownership shone through the children's faces. They took extra pains to keep their bikes clean and learned how to ride and fix them. The bicycles gave the children more freedom and provided secondary benefits to the family (think sending your child out to run an errand). It was a win-win-win solution for the children, the family, and us.
The program continues to this day and we now include bicycle giveaways to homeless people. Donations have come from diverse sources and the generosity of our community has always been forthcoming even amid the pandemic. I would never have guessed that a single bike contest could turn into what it has today, something I call the 'ride of my life'.
Contact im4uworld if you would like to learn how you can set up a bicycle donation program in your community.
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