CL&P's Bike Drive Gets People on a Roll

For many people, bicycles represent fun and recreation, or a form of sport and exercise. But for the grateful recipients of bicycles collected and distributed by Willimantic's Little Angels Program, a bicycle represents opportunity — a means of mobility, both literal and figurative.

The Little Angels Program, as it is now known, was started nearly 30 years ago by Willimantic native Ed Rivera, who grew up in the midst of a struggling community and developed a passion for helping others at an early age. Inspired by his first experiences riding a bike, Ed discovered a productive way to give to those who need it most.

"I remember when I first learned to ride a bike," says Ed, "I felt so free. I could ride my bike to the store — it was my first taste of independence."

Ed soon began retrieving old bikes from landfills and roadside trash littering neighborhoods, repairing them on his own and giving them away to kids in the Willimantic projects who were not fortunate enough to have bikes of their own.

Today, what began as an altruistic boy's hobby has grown into a nonprofit program whose mission is to collect second-hand bikes, repair them, and distribute them to an array of deserving individuals in the most depressed areas of Willimantic and surrounding communities. The bikes come from local and state police departments, corporations and individuals, and are distributed to children and adults in need living in the 13 housing projects located within a 25 square-mile radius in this depressed part of the state.

Other bikes are donated to homeless shelters and other organizations that serve disadvantaged populations, such as Camp Horizons (a camp for people with mental disabilities) and New Perceptions (a program that helps people recently released from prison transition to a productive, working life). For most recipients, the bike is their only form of transportation, their means of getting to and from work or the grocery store.

In addition to a $1,500 grant to help purchase bicycle accessories, such as helmets, pedals and carrier baskets, CL&P held an end-of-summer Bike & Trike Drive. In just 10 days, CL&P and other Northeast Utilities employees collected more than 350 bicycles, the largest single donation in the history of the Little Angels Program. Word of CL&P's impressive donation spread, sparking a flood of additional bike donations from across the state, including 28 second-hand bikes from the West Hartford Police Department, and 30 brand-new helmets from the Elks Club.

"I'm still getting several calls a day," says Ed. "Some folks have come from way out there to drop bikes off. I've asked other people to be patient while I set up a route to go and pick the bikes up. It's great to see this kind of generosity during tough economic times."

Describing the way a second-hand bike can change someone's life, Ed tells the story of a man named Rich, who had come upon hard times and was homeless when Ed met him. "I gave him a bike, which he used to go and find himself a job. Now Rich owns a car and a house." Another homeless woman used her donated bike to get a job delivering newspapers, earning enough money for her to rent a small apartment.

Little Angels bike donations keep old bicycles out of landfills and underscore the value of recycling, helping keep our planet green while they make better lives possible for others.

Full of gratitude for his ability to make a difference in the world, Ed says, "I thank God first, but also the many people who have helped foster this program —the corporations like CL&P and all the folks who volunteer their time and energy to our program."