Second Chance Supporters – Honey Pot Bike Collective

Operation New Hope extends our sincere thanks to our newest Second Chance Supporters at the Honey Pot Bike Collective.  Garfield Cooper (pictured at ZenCog Bicycle Company in Riverside) and the Honey Pot Bike Collective just donated 7 bikes to our Ready4Work clients.

At Operation New Hope, we provide support and training to people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system with the goal of connecting them with good paying jobs. Most returning citizens (80%+) do not have current driver’s licenses upon release and depend on public transportation. As good as our bus system is, it doesn’t get to every employer and doesn’t cover all the late shift hours. It isn’t uncommon for our clients to work jobs that are far from bus routes or be required to work hours that don’t fit the bus schedules, and a bike is the difference between working and not working. These bikes change lives. Thanks again to Honey Pot Bike Collective and Garfield Cooper.  

One hour after delivering the bikes to Operation New Hope, one of our job coaches sent the following message:

Thanks so much for the bikes,
We have two female clients who live in the same house and the closest bus stop is 2 miles away. We are going to deliver the bikes to them next week and they will be so excited. Thanks so much!

The Honey Pot Bike Collective is a grass-roots organization that provides bicycles to those in need. Garfield Cooper founded Jax Recycle in 2008 which now operates as the Honey Pot Bike Collective. Garfield and an enthusiastic crew of volunteers regularly get together to work on donated bikes to get them into safe, rideable condition. They then provide the bikes directly to those in need and to community partners who work with the underserved population. If you have bikes to donate or if you like working on bikes, please check out the Honey Pot Bike Collective. You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram. 

From all of us at Operation New Hope, a big thank you goes out to Garfield and all those in the Honey Pot Bike Collective. Thank you for being Second Chance Supporters!