Fairfield church donates bikes to foster kids

It started as one man's desire to be charitable and teach his children a lesson that life wasn't all about them. St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fairfield is now in its ninth year of giving bicycles to foster children. The tradition is something that brings nostalgia and happiness to members of the parish every year.

Brian Griffin is a member of the outreach committee at St. Paul's. He helps out with a part of the committee that hosts events for the Bridgeport area Department of Children and Families. The committee throws Christmas and Easter parties for DCF and helps to gather back-to-school items for the children, among other things.

"About eight years ago I was looking for something to get involved with for myself and my kids," said Griffin. "I wanted to make them understand that the world doesn't revolve around them and there are people who have issues and problems. "The woman who was the chairman of the outreach committee at the time contacted me, thinking it was something I would be interested in," he said.

Since fall 2000, Griffin has been working to help children involved in the DCF system. That year, they held the first bike raffle at a Christmas party. Only a few children got bikes then, so the child holding a board game as a present next to the child sitting on a bike usually ended up feeling a little slighted.

Roughly three years later, the church started giving away the bikes in the spring through direct request so that no child who needed a bike would

go unnoticed, said Griffin. "It resonated very well giving a child a bike who wanted one," said Griffin. "There are always a number of children who want bikes this time of year." This year, there were about six parishioners, including children, who volunteered to assemble the bikes for the giveaway, said Griffin. Parish participation is very important, said Lynn Shavinsky, chairwoman for St. Paul's outreach committee.

"There are people who participated by putting bikes together, buying them and getting them to the church and there are monetary donations," said Shavinsky. "It's something that we really encourage everyone to contribute toward because it's something that's very special to these children and it's a direct contribution."

The church was able to buy the bikes at a great price when the Fairfield Toys R Us went out of business last fall. The volunteers assembled the bikes and tagged them with the foster child's name for a giveaway event on May 31 at the church. This year, approximately 35 bikes were donated, said Griffin.

"Whether there's a recession or it's a good time, the parish always supports this," said Griffin. "Linda Shackleton can turn $1 into $10 in terms of finding a bargain. The events are really a collective effort."

Shackleton, a church member and volunteer, was on hand at the event with Griffin to help identify which bicycle belonged to which child. Shackleton said she likes being the shopper.

"It's fun to shop and know that it's helping someone," said Shackleton. "It's so rewarding when you see the smile on the kids' faces." Everlee Eaddy, a foster parent from Bridgeport, was in attendance to grab a bike for the younger of her two foster children who are sisters. As Eaddy waited for Griffin to find her daughter a helmet, she watched the little girl with a big grin grow accustomed to her first bike without training wheels. "I was going to buy her a bike, because she has been sharing with her older sister," said Eaddy. "This is great. This is very important to the children." Eaddy saw the new bike as an opportunity to spend some family time together.

"Since she has her own bike, I'm going to get my own," said Eaddy. "We'll do it on weekends and some evenings."

The Rev. Ben Brockman, pastor of St. Paul 's for 15 years, said he was there for the first bicycle event and it has been a hit every year.

"I remember my own first bicycle," said Brockman. "I got it for Christmas in 1948 when I was 6. There was a snowstorm and I was so thrilled to get that bike that I insisted that my father take me outside to ride it in five inches of snow. "I loved the independence, freedom, and mobility. Remembering my own delight, I have no difficulty imagining what the bicycles mean to these children," he said.