Charity gearing up to deliver 100 bikes to families in need

A charity in Jackson is gearing up to hand out 100 free bikes to families in need.

The project is called Heads Matter and it's run by Terry Larkin. He works with the owners of Armory Bike Union, a community bike shop near the old state prison north of West Ganson Street.

This is the third year the charity is giving underprivileged children bikes for Christmas. They've been able to get 101 bikes donated to them from people in the community. The bike shop fixed them up and made them ready for the road.

Larkin said he doesn't want kids to be left out this holiday, but it's more about safety than anything else.

"The kids do matter and they're important because they're going to grow up to be adults. We want them to educate others into wearing a helmet because you see a lot of cyclists who haven't got helmets. We're there to provide them," said Larkin, who is the project manager.

The League of Michigan Bicyclists gave the group a grant of $1,000, which they were able to match. With that money, the group bought about 240 helmets for the kids as well.

The group is going to deliver the bikes to the Priceless Gift Toy Store in Jackson on Nov. 28 and, from there, the store will hand out the bikes to the families in early December so the bikes will be all wrapped up in time for Christmas.

If you would like to donate or learn more about the project, visit