Village Bicycle Cooperative saddles up for Ohio veterans

Bill Abbott and Carl Gonzalez delivered a donated bike from Village Bicycle Cooperative to Ashley Matus at the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky.

The Village Bicycle Cooperative made a special donation of an adult tricycle to our armed services veterans at the independent living facility of the Ohio Veterans Home in Sandusky. VBC volunteers Bill Abbott and I loaded the trike on a crisp January morning and headed off on Route 2 to deliver the trike.

There we were greeted by Ashley Matus, OVH recreation coordinator. She told us that this adult tricycle will be "enlisted in service" for the OVH on-premise bicycle club. Adult trikes provide a bridge for those individuals with balance challenges. In these cases, three-wheel cycling transportation is a better and safer solution for recreational and exercise needs.(Cycling, by the way, is one of the best activities for supporting good cardiovascular health.)

The OVH facility is a friendly, impressive and well-organized operation. The OVH mission is to support veterans with skilled nursing home needs. OVH also provides an independent living section, with and without the necessity for medical supervision. We spoke with Cindy Christian-Kromer, a domiciliary social worker, and she told us, “We have many available independent living space openings for qualified veterans here in Ohio right here in Sandusky. We want those that served our country and their loved ones to know that they are supported.” Visit the OVH web site www.ohioveteranshome.gov for more information or give them a call at 419-625-2454.

Village Bicycle Cooperative is a 100% volunteer, not-for-profit organization in Bay Village. The VBC mission is to serve the community by refurbishing old publicly donated bicycles, reselling them, or donating them to charitable organizations and needy individuals. VBC also provides coordinated educational programs to support our community’s bicycle transportation needs. Visit us at www.villagebicycle.org for shop hours or on Facebook.

Village Bicycle Cooperative would like to thank Janet and Kerry Barvincak from Avon and the Avon VFW for informing us about the Ohio Veterans Home and their need for adult tricycles.

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Volume 12, Issue 3, Posted 9:55 AM, 02.04.2020