Mukilteo teens donate dozens of bikes to foster kids

When Keith van der Meulen was getting ready to graduate from Mukilteo’s Kamiak High School, he and his sister Carolyn sat at the table talking about their best memories. Riding their bikes together was among the highlights.

“We would do that every single day and we absolutely loved it,” says Carolyn. “And we realized that not every kid got that chance. And so we asked the question why not let every child have a bike?”

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The idea quickly became an unprecedented effort. The siblings headed for the local library and figured out how to start their own non-profit organization, and Foster Bikes was born.

The pair began soliciting donations for gently used bikes and started reaching out to foster child organizations to find kids who needed a bike.

That first summer of 2012, Keith, Carolyn and some of their friends spent countless hours in the garage, cleaning, painting and fixing up the bikes. They’ve been at it ever since.

When Keith is away at college at the University of Calgary, he does all the web, social media and advertising work, while Carolyn does much of the heavy lifting.

“I take the face of the company, meet with foster agencies and kids, collect donations, fix up the bikes and deliver them,” she says.

Carolyn does all that while also excelling in school. The Kamiak High senior plans to attend either Washington State University or Seattle University to study physical therapy this fall. She says she tries hard not to let Foster Bikes dominate her life, but it’s not easy.

“If I have 15 minutes I’ll take time doing some email, but I can easily spend a whole day fixing bikes.” But it’s worth it, she says.

“It’s really amazing because every time we deliver a bicycle I get to hear the story of a foster child and get to see their smiles,” she says. “And so many of the stories are heartbreaking but they also learn so much from the experience, and they also learn to stand up for themselves and advocate for themselves. And it’s one of those experiences where it’s really humbling to hear their stories.”

Carolyn’s parents have been supportive of the effort, serving on the board of directors when they first started. But Carolyn says they leave it all up to their kids.

“If I need help I can tell them what to do exactly, but other than that they really just step back and let me take complete control.”

Foster Bikes works with 8 different foster agencies, including state, private, and faith-based agencies. The organization has delivered 45 bicycles to foster children in Snohomish, Pierce, Skagit and King County, and had over 100 donated as well.

“We try and limit how many places we reach right now while we don’t have a huge supply, but if we were to have more bicycles than yes, we would definitely want to reach out to more places,” she says.

If you want to help, Foster Bikes would be glad to take your gently-used bike off your hands. And Carolyn says they welcome any donations to help pay for the supplies needed to fix up and deliver bikes to kids in need.

KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and Comprehensive Wealth Management are proud to select Carolyn van der Meulen as the Standout Student of the month.

Carolyn is just one of nine students who will be selected for one of the scholarships. One of the recipients will also receive a $10,000 grand prize scholarship.