I live in a small county (Hood River County, Oregon) that is primarily rural with many fruit orchards, pears, apples, 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 in 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 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 many immigrant groups that came to America, the first generation worked hard and spoke their native language mostly. Adults sacrificed to give their children a chance for a better future. 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. 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 solid foundation for the economy, but it is part of a more diversified one today.
Hood River was a natural choice 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 catered to tourists, 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 housing prices beyond what local people could afford. Market analysts estimated a few years ago that it took more than six (6) times the average local income to buy a house. That factor made Hood River 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. Locals termed it 'dark streets,' an accurate description of dark neighborhoods because few people were home.
It was hard on many of us here, including the Latino population. Today there is no such thing as an entry-level-priced house or apartment. Much of a working-class Latino family's income must be dedicated to housing, with little left for the children and amenities. Many multi-generational families live together in two and three-bedroom homes, with family members often sleeping on a couch. Affordable housing is now a critical issue in our town, and many service agencies are trying to solve some of the problems.
I got involved with a non-profit organization with a bike to give away. My good friend Silvan and I wanted to help the non-profit organization give more than just one bike away. We began a fundraising drive. We wanted to help children whose families could not afford to buy them a bike. Many children we encountered never had a bicycle, and five had to share one cycle in one situation.
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 entirely fair, so we picked entries randomly. To our surprise, most of the selected children had never owned a bike before, and most came from Latino families.
We contacted the families and went to the children's schools, a familiar place. Typically, both parents usually came along too. Only one of our group went to the school to present the bike. We wanted to avoid overwhelming the children and to have a one-on-one conversation with the parents. We did not seek 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, a middle school in an agricultural part of the county reached out to us. 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 raised funds to purchase bikes. We bought nine 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 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 community's generosity 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 to learn how to set up a bicycle donation program in your community.
Thankful was initially published in November 2021.
12152022A3/4
Next week - Thankful - Heartfelt Lesson. A retiree discovers that helping others teaches us a lot about ourselves.
im4u.world is an ambitious project designed to build positive and constructive conversations worldwide, share learning experiences and make real change locally.
Make a difference in the world. im4u.world can show you how.
Click here and subscribe for free.
Please share the story with your friends, family, and co-workers.
Comments