News

Nov 03, 2024

RABA hosts 22nd annual bike build for kids

Will Rumford, Ryan Rumford and Andrew Rumford build a bicycle at the Richmond Area Bicycling Association (RABA) Big Bikes for Kids build event during the The members of the Richmond Area Bicycling

Will Rumford, Ryan Rumford and Andrew Rumford build a bicycle at the Richmond Area Bicycling Association (RABA) Big Bikes for Kids build event during the

The members of the Richmond Area Bicycling Association are getting ready for Christmas early this year — as they have done every year for over two decades.

Dozens of the association’s members and volunteers gathered Saturday morning at the Richmond Community ToolBank on Cummings Drive to participate in Bikes for Kids — assembling hundreds of bicycles that will be given to local children in need on Christmas morning.

The bikes, which were purchased by RABA with help from generous donors across the country, will be entrusted to the Richmond metro area’s Christmas Mothers and other local organizations for distribution to kids, said Andrew Mann, president of the association.

James Daley works on a bicycle during the Richmond Area Bicycling Association Bikes for Kids event at the Richmond Community ToolBank on Cummings Drive on Saturday.

To Mann, the bike build — which started in 2002 and has seen thousands of bikes gifted to kids in the years since — is a sign that “Christmas is coming.”

“Every year, we put the bikes together, and then we partner with other area nonprofit groups to find a home for the bikes,” Mann said. “This year, we raised almost $50,000 and we bought 550 brand-new bikes ... and almost 600 helmets.”

“So on Christmas morning, hundreds of kids will wake up to a brand-new bike and a brand-new helmet,” Mann said — describing the project as his “passion.”

“As a kid, you remember the first bike you ever had,” he said. “It’s your first taste of freedom, right?”

People assemble bicycles during the Bikes for Kids event in Richmond on Saturday.

Andrew Rumford puts together a bicycle during the build event on Saturday.

Dee Nuckols, a RABA member, definitely remembers his first bike.

“It was a Schwinn with solid tires on it,” he said as he helped guide this reporter through the process of assembling a bike. “Every person can tell you all about their first bike and the joy they had, the freedom.”

Nuckols joined RABA in 1999, and the bike build event was his idea, he said.

“I wanted to do something in a way of charity,” he recalled. “So I went to the RABA board with a proposition, and they approved it.”

The initiative has come a long way since it began, Nuckols said — from just 44 bikes in its first year, to over 500 in each of the past two years. For Nuckols, it’s among the most rewarding things he’s done.

“There are stories that will just warm your heart,” he said. “Kids who expected nothing for Christmas, but wake up to a new bike,” or whose house burned down, leaving them to rebuild their lives with their families in a new place.

“It makes you feel wonderful,” he said, handing this reporter a wrench. “Hey, you’re going to want to tighten the pedals.”

Ryan Rumford, 12, and Will Rumford, 10, work on a bicycle during the event on Saturday.

Jeff Sampson, who lives in Church Hill, was among the volunteers in the parking lot outside the ToolBank. Sampson’s wife, Renata, is an avid cyclist and RABA member and, while Jeff said he doesn’t care much for biking himself, he supports RABA’s mission — enthusiastically enough to wake up a little early on a chilly Saturday morning in November.

“She’s a cyclist, and I’m a cycling widower,” Jeff said of Renata’s passion for cycling. “But I love doing this. I think it’s a great charity event, and it goes to a good cause.”

The bikes will be delivered to homes on Dec. 7.

In October 1954, a group of costumed children celebrated Halloween at the William Fox playground in Richmond.

09-01-1959: Youths wait for darkness to track "ghost." Headless conductor is said to haunt area near West Point.

10-20-1976: Costumes on Parade - Youngsters who attend the Fifth Street Baptist Church Day Nursery at 1400 W. Cary St. gave people in the neighborhood a sneak preview of what they could expect on Halloween night. The 45 children dressed up in their trick-or-treat costumes and paraded up and down the streets yesterday, to the delight of passers-by and residents who watched from their windows.

On Halloween 1976, young reveler Christopher Gibbs held a balloon while thousands wandered Shockoe Slip in Richmond at the Great Pumpkin Party. The celebration, sponsored by the Shockoe Slip Neighborhood Association, included an auction and a costume contest. About 10,000 people attended the event.

In October 1978, a group of mad hatters danced in Shockoe Slip during the Great Pumpkin Party. The Halloween-themed festival drew about 10,000 people, many of them in costume to participate in contests for cash prizes.

10-22-1981: Halloween

In October 1981, performers at the Boo House on Horsepen Road in Henrico County prepared to scare patrons as Halloween neared. The haunted house donated a portion of entrance fees to the Valentine Museum.

10-18-1983: Many masks and costumes are available from Premiere Inc., 3339 W. Cary Street. Be on the lookout for ghouls, ghost and goblins haunting Richmond tonight.

10-31-1984 (cutline): Spreading the spirit of Halloween--Nuns from Monte Maria Monastery at 22nd and East Grace streets applaud the singing of kindergartners from St. Patrick's School. The pupils, From Debbie Dix's class, visited the convent, had a parade around their Church Hill neighborhood and, in twist of Halloween tradition, handed out candy. The nuns are behind the glass partition because they are not allowed extensive contact with the public.

10-22-1985: Witch to buy? The sales counter at an informal pumpkin shop in Henrico County is being presided over by a different kind of clerk, a witch who's up in the air over the approaching trick-or-treat time for ghosts, demons, goblins and witches. The scene is at U.S. 1 and Parham Road. The fall fun time is just eight days away and costume picking, candy buying and pumpkin carving are beginning to be more noticeable.

10-26-86: Ghoulish greeting - One of the members of GWAR, a local rock group waved hello to those watching him skate to the Main Street Grill at Main and 17th streets yesterday. With Halloween just a few days away, similar sights are likely to become more familiar this week.

10-29-1987 (cutline): Dracula finds fresh corpse in Jeanne Young at the haunted house on Midlothian Turnpike where, ghouls, ghosts, homicidal perverts and the insane roam.

11-01-1987: Revelers show off along E. Cary Street.

Melissa Nguyen, Jodi Humpage, Lisa Gibson and Sonia Pena model popular costumes.

The judge and the acquitted are two of the more popular masks for the Halloween season.

Barbara Lucy emerges from a grave on the walk through the Colonial Heights Jaycees haunted forest Friday, October 20, 1995, on their first night this season. The forest is set up at Fort Clifton Park.

'Tour Witch' Jennifer Irvin of Glen Allen, a fourth-year member of the Sleepy Hollow Hayride performers, by the bonfire with haunters wielding chainsaws.

A pair of boots sticks out of the graveyard in front of 5311 White Oak Dr. The scene was constructed for Halloween

With a Halloween costume cat tail attached, Jacob Royall, 5, pretends he is a cat as his friend Shannon Greenstreet, 6, walks him down South Laurel Street in plastic play handcuffs. Justin Rhoten, 4 (left) took part in the charade. Shannon wore the tail earlier and also pretended she was a cat.

Crestwood Elementry School fall festival festival. (LtoR) with their scarecrows are Caroline Tarin with ABBY and Lindsay Tarin with ANNABELLE. They are twins in the second grade.

Four convicts prowled the 300 block of E. Grace St. Halloween day, Friday, Oct. 31,1997. The group,l-r:Sandy Smith, Gloria Cecil, her sister-in-law Vickie Cecil and Linda Meredith were on their lunch hour from the downtown office where they work.

It appears that a low flying Halloween witch crash landed on a tree in a moonless night on Southampton Rd. Richmond, Va. The display is created by Mr and Mrs. Dennis and Teresa Haynes.

It appears that a low flying Halloween witch crash landed on a tree in a moonless night on Southampton Rd. Richmond, Va. The display is created by Mr and Mrs.Dennis and Teresa Haynes.

What appears to be a hastily-done burial appeared at the corner of Kukymuth Rd and Barksdale Rd. in eastern Henrico County Sunday, Oct. 25, 1998. The alledged decedant, Terry Price, lives at the corner with his wife, Annette (whose 'grave' is in the front yard near their house) and four children and owns Tomahawk Heating & Air Conditioning Co. The Prices and their children are known throughout the neighborhood for enjoying the Halloween holidays in rather dramatic fashion.

Richmond skyline framed by fall colors taken 10/31/98.

8900 W Broad St, the Tuckahoe Jaycees Haunted Forest. The cemetery.

Members of the Stepping Out in Unity marching band from southwest Philadelphia sported Halloween masks during the Autumn Harvest Parade along Broad Street.

This ghostly apparition greeted motorists turning onto Barksdale Rd. in eastern Henrico Co. Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000. In the background are an assortment of ghosts, goblins and gravesites around the home of Terry and Annette Price, who decorate their property early for Halloween.

86-year-old Willard G. Bricker is greeted by six month old Avera Pearson at The Laurels Of Willow Creek, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation conter. Avera is the daughter of Sherri Pearson who works at The Laurels. The Laurels hosted a Halloween Festival, including trick or treat for community children, a creepy courtyard, fortune telling, and other activities for senior citizens and the children. The Builders Club of Midlothian Middle School helped in festival activities.

Halloween will be celebrated with a patriotic theme by these West-End kids. From left are Elizabeth Berry,11; Annie Smith,11; Casey Fowler,11; and Gray Crenshaw.

Roxane Gilmore, background at right, watches costumed children parade in front of the governor's mansion during the Halloween SPOOKTACULAR on 10/28/01

Linda Forem approves of her daughter's choice of the chicken outfit at Premiere Costumes in Carytown. Forem's daughter, Mayme Beth Donahue, 16, rented the outfit for a costume dance called the "Oddball" at Collegiate High School where she is the junior class president.

Bush, Cheney and Powell masks at Premiere Costume in Carytown on 10/25/02. For the second year in a row, frightening events have cast a pall over Halloween. Last year the country was still reeling from the terror attacks of 9-11. This year, sniper attacks threatened the holiday where kids of all-ages look forward to dressing up and trick or treating.

Premiere Costume mask selection in Carytown on 10/25/02. For the second year in a row, frightening events have cast a pall over Halloween. Last year the country was still reeling from the terror attacks of 9-11. This year, sniper attacks threatened the holiday where kids of all-ages look forward to dressing up and trick or treating.

Halloween decorations festoon the front of a home in the 4500 block of Park Ave. in Richmond.

Wendy Shannon and her four-year-old daughter Sophie adjust the arms of a couple of ghosts in front of their home on Hanover Ave. west of the Boulevard in Richmond, as Halloween night draws near.

LIONS, CATS, AND RABBITS, OH MY! Sarah Innes rounds up her kids, two-year-old son Judson and six-month old daughter Laurence before heading home after attending a Halloween party at the home of Elizabeth Johnson in the 3900 block of W. Cary St. in Richmond. They came across a curious cat on the way back home.

Heather Bailey, of Richmond, a waitress at Galaxy Diner on Cary Street, talks with a customer while dressed as a pirate for Halloween Friday October 31, 2003.

After Lizzy Weiner picked up a magic wand at Ellman's in Carytown (to complete her fairy costume) she crossed paths with Claire Nehrboss, 3, who was Trick or Treating as a princess. Claire's parents, Ruth and Richard Nehrboss, came from Lake Anna to take Claire candy hunting, along with their sons Richard Jr. (5) and William (1)

Taryen Lovell, of Richmond, a waitress at Galaxy Diner on Cary Street, applies makeup to complete her halloween costume Friday, October 31, 2003.

Kiara Burroughs, 14, was not at all surprised to see orthodontic assistant Tammy Richardson dressed up as "Dopey" at the practice of Dr. Graham Gardner Tuesday afternoon. Dr. Gardner (background) dressed as Snow White. His staff of seven dressed as the Seven Dwarfs. Dr. Gardner said that he and his staff always dress up for Halloween. Dr. Gardner said, "We try to make things fun. We try to make orthodontics as fun as possible. If you make it fun, it makes it easier." The practice is at the corner of Willow Lawn Drive and Monument Avenue.

Whitney Rogers (in cowgirl hat) helps pilot a raft with Stacy Rogers (left) and Erica Barnes as they shoot through Hollywood Rapids at Belle Island. They and other rafting and kayaking enthusiasts dressed in Halloween costumes for the ride.

Children who attend the Richmond Child Development Center near Carytown got into the Halloween spirit by Trick-or-Treating in Carytown. The children, accompanied by some parents and by employees of the child-care business, stayed together by holding onto a rope. Many Carytown business owners gave the children candy.

"I knew she wouldn't let me put up a real ghost," said Mark Poore, of his first wire sculpture, a mickey mouse ghost. Poore, of Glen Allen, is working on his fourth sculpture in four years, and every one of them is a Disney character. The sculptures, made from hangers and illuminated with black lights, decorate his yard every Halloween. Poore said that he and his wife honeymooned at Disney World and go every few years. He said they don't have kids, but love seing how wide-eyed the children get when they come trick-or-treating at their house.

Mark Poore, of Glen Allen, started making Halloween wire sculptures four years ago and has made one every year since then. All of the sculptures are of Disney characters including this reproduction of Chernabog, which looks down from above the front door of Poore's house on children coming to trick or treat. His other sculptures are of a Mickey Mouse ghost, of Sully, from Monsters Inc. and another he is currently working on, Mike, also from Monsters Inc.

Josh Sample, 9, practices his sword moves as he walks down the 2900 block of Cary Street in Carytown, past Double T's Barbeque where Brian and Katina Sokol were enjoying their lunch. Josh, visiting from Florida, was with friends who has just purchased Halloween costumes.

Phylis and Andy Vergales amid the Halloween decorations in their yard on Harding Trace Lane. October 27 , 2005

Apparently Richmonders in the 2100 blk of Ginter St. are revving up for Halloween more than ever this year. October 23, 2005.

Paul and Melissa Seward went with the Star Wars theme when they dressed their 10-month-old daughter Zoe for Saturday's Halloween festival in Shockoe Slip. Paul Seward also stuck to the theme and dressed as a stormtrooper.

Inspired by a trip to Paris they took last Fall, Ken Van Riper, as Leonardo da Vinci, and Dave Burchfield, as the Mona Lisa, dressed up for Saturday's Halloween festival in Shockoe Slip. Here, Sandi Snedeker, of Leisure Times funnel cake and lemonade stand, admires the costumes.

Five-month-old Thomas Dillard didn't last long as he and his mom, Cara Dillard, visited the 1900 block of Hanover Ave., in Richmond, on Wednesday, October 31, 2007. This was the first year that a block of Hanover Ave., a street that is known to go all out on Halloween, was blocked off to traffic.

Lori Moore donned a bunny costume for her Halloween shift as a waitress at The Red Door restaurant in Richmond 10/31.

Bryan Halstead will don a werewolf persona to haunt the Hanover Avenue corridor on Halloween.

Halloween in Ashland means Harry Orell’s on the loose again. An information and technology project manager at Randolph-Macon College, Orell has been scaring up a spook on campus and in town for 14 years with increasingly elaborate home-made costumes. “The college president told me this is the best one yet,” Orell said Wednesday on Center Street, where he was chatting up costumers in front of The Caboose Wine & Cheese Shop. “You can’t ask for more than that.” Orell began working on his dinosaurish costume in January, piecing together hundreds of recycled parts. “The head is a recycled garbage can,” he said. “You can tell by the way it smells in here.” He said his day began at 6 as he started his trek through as many campus buildings as could accommodate the width and height of his costume. He finally petered out by 5, then went home to hand out candy. “That’s all my back can handle,” he said. “I’ll take off the top and set it on the porch to scare the kids.” Since he can not fit through most doors, he met Salon Van Haren employee Karen Crump outside. His is one of their clients. Autumn Buck, age 18 months and also dressed for Halloween, was not too scared to hold his hand. Photo was taken Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

(L-R) Katie Barron, Michael Leonberger and other "zombies" walk through Carytown to pass out information on Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion Monday, September 25, 2012.

Natalie Hancock used clever makeup to dress up for Halloween-eve at Banditos Burrito Lounge where she works as a waitress. Oct. 30, 2013.

Joseph Ondishko's house at 2807 Stonewall Ave. in Richmond VA gets the attention of many trick or treaters and Halloween-goers Thurs. Oct. 31, 2013. Ondishko said he has been decorating the house for Halloween for about ten years. His decorations started with a homemade fiberglass spider and grows each year.

A trick or treater runs toward Joseph Ondishko's house at 2807 Stonewall Ave. in Richmond VA Thurs. Oct. 31, 2013. Ondishko said he has been decorating the house for Halloween for about ten years. His decorations started with a homemade fiberglass spider and grows each year.

Traditional favorites in Halloween costumes have given way to the characters from Duck Dynasty at least according to one salesman at Richmond's Premiere Costumes in Carytown.

A Halloween display at the corner of Winterfield Rd. and Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County VA Wed. Oct. 16, 2013.

Paula Ritter, friend of bride Mary Alice Jackson, is one of guests, who has a make-up, for a Halloween-themed wedding reception at Mary's parents' house in King William County on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013.

This "troll collector" was spotted at the corner of Kukymuth and Barksdale Roads in eastern Henrico County, VA Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. A number of quarters were inside the bucket and scattered on the ground nearby.

With Goodwill clothing finds, shoppers can put together imaginative Halloween costumes, as did Nolan Tellado, 9, (dressed as Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent), Laura Faison (as the Queen of Hearts) and Taylor Greene (as Prince Charming). Goodwill's Taylor Hering (far left) assisted in the costume selection at the Goodwill store on Alverser Drive in Chesterfield County. Oct. 24, 2014.

A scary clown appears to be heading out of the woods at the intersection of Kukymuth and Barksdale Roads in eastern Henrico County, VA Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. Several of the local residents host a Halloween party at the end ot the month, but get started with their decorations early.

This mailbox was ready to swallow any "dead letters" as preparations for Halloween get under way on Kukymuth Rd. in the Varina section of eastern Henrico County, VA Friday, Oct. 23, 2015.

David Lee Henry Jr. pushes his granddaughter 11-year-old Chloey Henry, who has Rett Syndrome, out in her new Halloween costume that VCU School of Dentistry students put togetherfor her. The dental students worked with Magic Wheelchair which creates Halloween costumes for children who use wheelchairs. Chloey, who is from Louisa, was fitted in the mermaid and turtle costume at her aunt and uncle's house in Glen Allen Saturday, October 29, 2016.

Spectators watch as the "living dead" lurch through Carytown during the Richmond Zombie Walk to benefit the American Cancer Society Saturday, October 29, 2016.

India Seward watched her kids Jamirah, 12, and J'arie, 7, Cheeks handed out candy from the truck of her car at St. Paul Baptist Church as the church celebrated its annual Trunk or Treat ministry event. Members of the church decorated their vehicles and dressed for Halloween to hand out candy in the church parking lot Monday.

A customer sites at a table outside the Sefton Coffee Company with a Halloween decoration. She said that she also had to take a picture of the skeleton.

Jeff Chapman and partner Katrina Dozier's Hanover Avenue home in the Fan is decorated for Halloween Monday, October 29, 2018.

Eleanor Oremland, age 2, looks for her mother Joanna Oremland Saturday, October 27, 2018. She was dressed up as a fairy for Halloween trick-or-treating in Carytown.

Residents at 2017 Hanover Avenue displayed ghostly humor for Halloween Monday, October 29, 2018.

A skeleton sits on a motorcycle for Halloween in front of 2007 Hanover Avenue in the Fan Monday, October 29, 2018.

Karoline Sweet, age 8, concentrates on getting a bite of a donut hanging from a canopy outside the Executive Mansion during an Halloween Open House Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

The undead walk through Carytown during the Richmond Zombie Walk Saturday, October 27, 2018.

The undead shuffle through Carytown during the Richmond Zombie Walk Saturday, October 27, 2018.

An undead shuffles through Carytown during the Richmond Zombie Walk Saturday, October 27, 2018.

Samuel B. Parker (804) 649-6462 [email protected]

City of Richmond Reporter

Will Rumford, Ryan Rumford and Andrew Rumford build a bicycle at the Richmond Area Bicycling Association (RABA) Big Bikes for Kids build event…