Steven Douglass wasn’t searching for a way to give back to his community four years ago, but the 500+ kids he’s helped, their parents, and Steven himself are grateful that the opportunity found him.
In 2018, Steven’s brother mentioned that a few kids in his Columbus, Ohio neighborhood were in need of bikes. As luck would have it, Steven soon found enough bikes in good condition that were being thrown out to meet the need in his brother’s community.
Steven’s retrieval and delivery of those first three bicycles was a simple response to hearing a need and finding a way to fill it. He didn’t yet realize that was going to lead to a larger, ongoing effort.
Inspired by the happiness he was able to deliver by being resourceful, the Mason native wondered if he could help more kids. Shortly after his first success at finding unwanted bikes, Steven recalls, “I posted on Facebook to see if I could come up with some bike donations for the tri-state area. I got 27 donations from that post, so I just kept going—it took off from there.”
Steven clearly appreciates the joy of giving back, and he gets to see the surprised smiles of bike recipients in photos shared with him. “The excitement this brings to kids is incredibly rewarding. It’s worth it,” he says.
Four years into his bicycle recycling program, Steven has now given out more than 500 bikes to families, delivering the joy of riding to kids along the way. With limited storage space and most of his time spent selling houses as a RE/MAX agent in Maineville, he still does all of the collecting and distributing himself. He also repairs many of the donated bikes, a skill he learned riding BMX in his youth.
Steven has gotten a few boosts along the way to promote his efforts. Powder Keg Harley Davidson heard about his program, and with their social media reach, has offered their support to increase donations. He also partners with Bicycle Recycle, a similar nonprofit bike donation program. Steven now does much of his distribution through community centers, churches, and schools to get bikes to kids for summer and to parents (and Santa) for Christmas.
Steven mainly collects donations in the two months leading up to Christmas and summer. You can get in touch with Steven any time at 513-225-5090 to arrange a donation pickup or take them to his office in Maineville at 7264 Columbia Rd., Ste 200. Know someone who needs a bike? Feel free to call or message him at Facebook.com/StevenDouglassREMAXTime.
