‘A problem worth fixing’
Howard nonprofit aims to provide bikes for children in need
Bikes are stored at the headquarters of Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maryland in Columbia.
Every child should have a bicycle.
That simple philosophy — along with a lifelong passion for biking — spurred Howard County native Ted Cochran to launch Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maryland as the local headquarters of a Minneapolis nonprofit originally founded in 2008.
Following a one-time seasonal bike drive at12 county fire stations on Oct. 5, the fledgling organization based in the former Columbia Flier building is on its way to making bike ownership a reality for hundreds of local kids in need.
In just four hours, FB4K Maryland collected 285 bikes of all sizes.
Hoping to increase the number of refurbished bikes being given away in Columbia on Dec. 14, the organization will continue to accept donations of gently used bikes through Oct. 31.
The organization’s hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at its offices at 10750 Little Patuxent Parkway.
Most needed are smaller bikes and tricycles, Cochran said.
After spending much of his free time on two wheels since he was 6, Cochran wanted to give youths in need “their first taste of independence,” as well as coax them away from phone, computer and TV screens and into adopting a fun and healthy outdoor pastime.
Having logged 25,000 miles commuting by bike between 2011 and his retirement in April from corporate research and development in Minnesota, Cochran knows firsthand what a well-developed bike culture can mean to a community.
“Columbia is a great place for riding with its pathways and cul-de-sacs, yet a lot of kids here don’t have bikes,” said Cochran, who volunteered at the FB4K Minneapolis location for 10 years when he lived in Minnesota. “That’s a problem worth fixing.”
Cochran, 65, said his startup operates as its own nonprofit, but he can piggyback off the established logo, policies and website of the Minneapolis location.
He has partnered with Howard County and the Howard Hughes Corporation, which gave the organization a $10,000 grant. The Horizon Foundation, a Columbia-based health and wellness philanthropy, is also on board.
Cochran intends to eventually expand the organization into Baltimore since “that’s where the real need is,” he said.
But when that might occur and whether it can be accomplished from a Howard County-based headquarters have yet to be determined.
There’s still a lot to be done in the next couple months before the big giveaway.
More volunteers are needed to clean, adjust and repair bikes before a professional bicycle repair person gives them a final once-over and stamp of approval.
Information and online signup for workers of all skill levels is available at fb4kmaryland.org. Volunteers younger than 18 can apply, but must supply a signed permission slip. Younger kids must be accompanied by a parent.
“We can use people with all levels of bike experience, from ‘What’s a bike?’ to ‘Mechanic for the Tour de France,’ ”
Cochran joked on the website.
Cochran knows what biking can mean to a kid’s health and well-being.
He grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s, a time when kids grabbed their bikes and took off to meet up with friends or just go exploring — promising to be back before dark from wherever they ended up, he recalled.
Cochran is the oldest of six children of Edward L. Cochran, a former Howard County executive and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory chemist, and the late Joan Cochran. His two sisters, Del. Courtney Watson and Mary Catherine Cochran, legislative director at the Maryland General Assembly, assisted with the bike drive.
Community service was always a priority in the Cochran household.
“We were taught to give back growing up,” Cochran said of the family, who made their home in Clarksville, where his father still lives.
What better way to do that than to combine a desire to give back with a passion for biking, he said.
What began for Cochran as biking for fun evolved over the years into getting himself to part-time jobs as a
Every child should have a bicycle.
That simple philosophy — along with a lifelong passion for biking — spurred Howard County native Ted Cochran to launch Free Bikes 4 Kidz Maryland as the local headquarters of a Minneapolis nonprofit originally founded in 2008.
Following a one-time seasonal bike drive at12 county fire stations on Oct. 5, the fledgling organization based in the former Columbia Flier building is on its way to making bike ownership a reality for hundreds of local kids in need.
In just four hours, FB4K Maryland collected 285 bikes of all sizes.
Hoping to increase the number of refurbished bikes being given away in Columbia on Dec. 14, the organization will continue to accept donations of gently used bikes through Oct. 31.
The organization’s hours are 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at its offices at 10750 Little Patuxent Parkway.
Most needed are smaller bikes and tricycles, Cochran said.
After spending much of his free time on two wheels since he was 6, Cochran wanted to give youths in need “their first taste of independence,” as well as coax them away from phone, computer and TV screens and into adopting a fun and healthy outdoor pastime.
Having logged 25,000 miles commuting by bike between 2011 and his retirement in April from corporate research and development in Minnesota, Cochran knows firsthand what a well-developed bike culture can mean to a community.
“Columbia is a great place for riding with its pathways and cul-de-sacs, yet a lot of kids here don’t have bikes,” said Cochran, who volunteered at the FB4K Minneapolis location for 10 years when he lived in Minnesota. “That’s a problem worth fixing.”
Cochran, 65, said his startup operates as its own nonprofit, but he can piggyback off the established logo, policies and website of the Minneapolis location.
He has partnered with Howard County and the Howard Hughes Corporation, which gave the organization a $10,000 grant. The Horizon Foundation, a Columbia-based health and wellness philanthropy, is also on board.
Cochran intends to eventually expand the organization into Baltimore since “that’s where the real need is,” he said.
But when that might occur and whether it can be accomplished from a Howard County-based headquarters have yet to be determined.
There’s still a lot to be done in the next couple months before the big giveaway.
More volunteers are needed to clean, adjust and repair bikes before a professional bicycle repair person gives them a final once-over and stamp of approval.
Information and online signup for workers of all skill levels is available at fb4kmaryland.org. Volunteers younger than 18 can apply, but must supply a signed permission slip. Younger kids must be accompanied by a parent.
“We can use people with all levels of bike experience, from ‘What’s a bike?’ to ‘Mechanic for the Tour de France,’ ”
Cochran joked on the website.
Cochran knows what biking can mean to a kid’s health and well-being.
He grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s, a time when kids grabbed their bikes and took off to meet up with friends or just go exploring — promising to be back before dark from wherever they ended up, he recalled.
Cochran is the oldest of six children of Edward L. Cochran, a former Howard County executive and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory chemist, and the late Joan Cochran. His two sisters, Del. Courtney Watson and Mary Catherine Cochran, legislative director at the Maryland General Assembly, assisted with the bike drive.
Community service was always a priority in the Cochran household.
“We were taught to give back growing up,” Cochran said of the family, who made their home in Clarksville, where his father still lives.
What better way to do that than to combine a desire to give back with a passion for biking, he said.
What began for Cochran as biking for fun evolved over the years into getting himself to part-time jobs as a
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