BOISE, Idaho — Inmates at the South Boise Women's Correctional Center showed up to Ann Morrison Park to help the Boise Bicycle Project with an event to teach children how to be safe while riding.
It's all part of the Shifting Gears program, where the women work on bikes to help the non-profit, but it also gives them purpose, they learn a skill, and they get a chance to mentor.
WATCH| Check out the video to see the women interact with kids at the Traffic Garden
"I didn’t know anything about bikes before I started, and now I feel like I can go home and help my kids with their bikes," said Sierra Pena. "So it has been really good."
Sierra Pena has helped refurbish 16 bikes since January. On Thursday, the women got to help in a bi-weekly program called BASH, the bicycle and safety hour. The inmates got to present a few kids with new bikes, and they also got a chance to interact with them and help the kids learn at the Traffic Garden in Ann Morrison Park.
"I’m excited to see all the smiling faces," said Pena. "I’m super excited to share and give back to the community.”
The Boise Bicycle Project is a non-profit that started Shifting Gears through a partnership with the Idaho Department of Corrections. It's an apprentice program that more than 80 women have participated in. They spend their first three months learning how to fix up bikes and the following three months teaching the next group.
"At the end of all that, our shop is able to act as a job reference for them," said Benson Smith, who manages the program for BBP. "We get to talk about all the help they gave to our program, the job skills they learned, and how they took on that second role as a leader in that program."
The Boise Bicycle Project donates around 2,000 bikes to the kids in the community every year. It takes the community donating bikes they no longer use, and the team at BBP fixes up hundreds of bikes for the Holiday Bike Giveaway. The Shifting Gears program helps lessen the load for the volunteers of this non-profit.
"But, honestly, the best part are days like this where they get to see a bike they built being used," said Smith. "They also get to teach that kid how to ride it and really see it come full circle for them on their journey."
The Boise Bicycle Project has several events coming up this summer; they are also in need of volunteers and donations. For more information, click here.
