Hollywood Beach resident Bob “Bikebob” Lieberman likes creating smiles — first as a toy company executive and most recently as the founder of Bikes 4 Kids, a volunteer organization that collects, fixes and redistributes used bicycles.
Lieberman, 58, served as the unofficial “Creator of Smiles” for Matchbox Toys before becoming a business life coach through his marketing company, It’s a Shore Thing, which assists professionals who want to grow their businesses. An avid bike rider and environmentalist, Lieberman launched Bike 4 Kids last September and has since delivered nearly 200 bicycles to wheel-less children and homeless adults.
Dozens of volunteers help out by putting up posters in storefront windows and handing out business cards. Collectively, they are known as Bikebob & Friends. It’s a simple premise: People call Lieberman to pick up their unwanted or unneeded bicycles, which ultimately get a “second life” with a new owner. Bikes needing repairs are delivered to the Bicycle Spot in Oakland Park, which does all the work for free.
But the vast majority of donated bikes are in good, even “pristine,” condition, according to Lieberman, who has collected bicycles valued as high as $400.
“They need a little air in the tires, need cleaning, a little TLC,” he said.
The idea for the donation program “grew out of a green interest,” said Lieberman, a member of Hollywood’s Green Team Advisory Committee for the past two years. Bikes 4 Kids’ first bicycle recipient was a 14-year-old local boy, the son of an unemployed single mother, who wanted to ride with Bikebob & Friends in the annual Candy Cane Parade on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk in December but didn’t own a bike.
“I gave him my $1,000 mountain bike, I gave him a helmet and I gave him a lock,” said Lieberman. “That was bike one, by me.”
Since then, Bikes 4 Kids has distributed “second-life” bikes not only to children but also to some homeless adults through the Jubilee Center in Hollywood. Some recipients are referred through organizations that assist the needy, while others call Lieberman after seeing one of his posters.
On one particular occasion, Lieberman delivered bicycles to four siblings.
“The looks on their faces — it was like we gave them cars,” he said. “I felt like Oprah.”
Bikes 4 Kids is for all kids — not just the disadvantaged.
“If a child asks for a bike, I don’t care who they are, they get one,” Lieberman said. “So it’s not just based on need; it’s based on want.”
To raise awareness for Bikes 4 Kids and celebrate Hollywood’s eco-friendly attitude, Lieberman has organized Hollywood Bike Day from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. The fourth annual informal gathering of bicycle enthusiasts will feature a bike parade along the Broadwalk, beginning at the south end near the Summit Towers Condos and ending at North Beach Park at Sheridan Street. Anyone is welcome to join the leisurely paced procession at any point along the route. Riders should wear a helmet and bring drinking water, sunscreen and “a smile or two,” Lieberman said. The slogan for the day, “Forever Young,” not only refers to the youthful exuberance experienced by bike riders of all ages but also recognizes Hollywood and founder Joseph Young, who purchased the first parcel of land that would evolve into the present-day city back in February 1921.
Not coincidently, February is also Heart Healthy Month. In addition to the “empowerment to be free” that Bikes 4 Kids gives children in the community, Lieberman said he volunteers his time to the project because he knows firsthand the healthy benefits of regular bike riding.
“I was very ill. The bicycle helped me recoup in saving my life,” he recalled.
These days, “Bikebob” can be seen in his yellow Bikes 4 Kids T-shirt pedaling along the Broadwalk, where he logs 10 to 15 miles a day, and spreading the word about Bikes 4 Kids and Hollywood along the way.
“Some people call me the Mayor of Hollywood Beach,” Lieberman said.
And like a true ambassador, the Brooklyn-born “Creator of Smiles” is inspiring other people in cities across the country to start their own Bikes 4 Kids program. He also has plans to organize an annual Bike Day in area elementary, middle and high schools that would allow older students to swap bicycles they’ve outgrown for bigger rides and pass along their too-small wheels to the younger children.
“It’s really grassroots. It’s little by little,” Lieberman said.
For more information on the Hollywood Beach Bike Parade or to donate or receive a bicycle, call Lieberman at 954-593-8501 or e-mail him at shorething401@aol.com.
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