Monday Morning Joy: Young bikers experience 'new normal'
FORT MYERS, Fla. — More than 20 kids in Fort Myers' Dunbar community got free bikes, safety vests and helmets recently from the I Will Mentorship Foundation after the group held a bike ride there.
IWMF's founder, Jesse Bryson, joined volunteers and members of the Fort Myers Fire Department in leading safety classes and the ride. At one point gunfire broke out nearby, but none of the kids were affected. "It reminds us of the serious challenges this community is facing. Unfortunately, this is their normal," Bryson said.
Bryson's efforts to create a new normal for at-risk youth in Southwest Florida via the rides are funded in part by a nearly $6,000 grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation. Bryson purchased a bike trailer with the grant and also will recondition 200 bikes and hold bike repair clinics.
Go to www.iwmf2.org to lean more about the program.
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Monday Morning Joy is a video series of uplifting moments from the daily lives of the people of Southwest Florida. Got a moment to share? Tell Kinfay Moroti about it at kmoroti@gannett.com, on Facebook (Kinfay Moroti) or on Twitter @Kinfay and #sharethejoy