Palatine nonprofit gives new life to used bikes and musical instruments
(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — This week’s Difference Maker is Bikes and Music, a northwest suburban nonprofit that gives the gift of music and transportation.
“I’m into bicycling and my wife is into music — both of us are into music,” said Ryan Gable, who co-founded Bikes and Music in Palatine.
After years of working with nonprofits, Gable said he and his wife wanted to start their own.
Ryan Gable, co-founded of Bikes and Music in Palatine with his wife. After years of working with nonprofits Gable said they wanted to start their own. The initial conversations were in 2019, and they found inspiration as they talked with friends and neighbors about musical instruments that gather dust after lessons end.
“The kid was using an instrument for a couple years, and now it’s underneath a bed or in the garage, and they don’t know what to do with it,” he said.
Gable said he also heard a great deal from parents who didn’t know what they could do with bicycles after their kids outgrew them.
“A lot of times they get thrown away, so we both said at the same time: ‘Let’s recycle these. Let’s bring these in, fix them up, and give them to families [and] kids in need,’” he recalled.
Bikes and Music officially launched in 2021. They take donated bicycles and musical instruments, refurbish them, and then distribute them to organizations in the city.
Gable said he remembered growing up as the child of a single mother who could not afford music lessons.
“I wanted to learn the saxophone, and it was being offered at the school I went to, but my mom didn’t have $25 to rent the saxophone,” he said.
He said their organization had a huge impact on the daily lives of the people they serve, which Gable said was “amazing.”
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