Brad’s Big Wish
Sparked by a passion for kids and bikes, Brad Appel is determined to empower the next generation with a gift that transforms lives.
By: Brad Appel / 8 minute read
When I was a kid, in the summer and on weekends my parents would often say, “There’s nothing for you to do at home today. Get outside! Just be back in time for dinner.” Of course, this was long before cable TV, the Internet, or mobile phones. Our on-demand entertainment was to jump on our bikes and ride.
Riding my bike meant freedom. It was how I released stress. It was how I had access to the world —and it was a lot of fun.
My first bike was a purple Schwinn Stingray that my dad and I rebuilt together. I was so proud of that bike! I was part of a gang of ten neighborhood kids who rode everywhere together —through sewer tunnels and drain areas, across parks and down back alleys, from town to town.
Every weekday morning, we’d meet at a different house and that kid’s mom served breakfast, and then off we’d ride to school together from there. After school, we worked on the bike ramps we built near our school. When we heard the Good Humor truck approaching, we’d take a break and eat our Bomb Pops and Push-Ups before hopping on our bikes again. Off we’d ride on our next adventure, still licking our sticky fingers.
That was my earliest community.
Decades later, I wanted to give my three kids the same experience I had growing up, but the world had changed. I became a terrible helicopter parent. I’d follow them around and make sure nothing bad happened to them. I was fortunate that I could afford to buy bikes for my kids and teach them to ride. I began to wonder what kids from low-income families did.
I talked with a lot of people and found out there was indeed a need. Kids, whose parents couldn’t afford to buy them a bike, were often sitting at home in front of a screen for hours a day. What about those kids who had the desire to have adventures like my friends and I had in Westchester County? How could we help the kids who wished for wheels but didn’t have the means to get them?
That’s how Wish for Wheels was born.
Wish started in 2004 and we held our first “Build & Give” in 2005. Working with a small team who were as passionate as I am about bikes and kids, we created a unique model that relied on corporate philanthropy instead of individual donors.
The concept was simple. First, I’d approach companies to donate funds to buy the bikes. Of course, these bikes required assembly, so we’d enlist the help of the employees or the team of the sponsoring company to come to the school and build the bikes. Then, those same employees or team members who put the bikes together presented the bikes to their new owners. Imagine a sea of bikes. Then, suddenly, dozens of second graders run out onto the playground and see those bikes.
That’s where the real magic happens.
It’s cool to spend time building bikes with your team, but the real emotion kicks in when you get to share the bikes with the kids. It’s an indescribable feeling. You get to meet and talk to every second grader and really engage with them. Often, this is the first bike they’ve owned, so we even get to teach them how to ride. Watching a kid find their sense of balance and take off on their own for the first time on a bike is a sight that I will never grow tired of witnessing.
The first year we gave new bikes to 68 kids and every year we grew.
I knew Wish was having an impact on kids and communities, but I hadn’t realized how much the initiative meant to me personally — until 2012 when my marriage fell apart. To call it a contentious divorce would be generous. I had three young kids and was totally broke. I was angry and depressed and cycling through the phases of grief. It was a dark time in my life. Wish for Wheels became my lifeboat.
Wish gave me a sense of caring and purpose and allowed me to lead as a servant. Focusing on helping others illuminated my darkness and showed me a path forward. It gave me a way to stay positive and create connections. Wish gave me hope. I found solace in the things that always made me happy: kids and bikes. After that, I dedicated myself to Wish full-time.
Today our Build Give Program involves building at least 25 bikes, but our average build is 60. We pick a Title 1 school and build the bikes on the school’s playground. It takes about 90 minutes to assemble the bikes, checks them out for safety, and line up them all up with new helmets.
We encourage every company to adopt a school in their community and make the Build Give Program an annual event. For example, the Gates Corporation always goes to Castro Elementary and they fund all the bikes at that school. They feel connected to that school and all those kids.
A few years into the program, we refined Wish to provide new bikes and helmets to second graders in Title 1 schools. That’s the age when parents are comfortable letting their kids ride to school. It’s a grow-in bike that will fit the kid for three years.
Over the next eight years, we assembled and distributed bikes to kids in 15 different states. Then the pandemic hit … and Wish shut down.
Like so many organizations, our supply chain was disrupted. Everyone, including me, was laid off. We didn’t know what was going to happen next, but I was determined to continue uniting bikes and kids as soon as possible. As soon as social distancing restrictions began to loosen up in the fall of 2020, I went back to work. It was disheartening to start over again, but thankfully, our hiatus was short-lived. Today, we’re not only back up to speed, but we’re also expanding Wish in a variety of ways, including beefing up our executive team and expanding our network of donors. In 2022, we’ll build and give away 3500 bikes.
Of course, Wish isn’t just about giving bikes to kids. It’s about the amazing things that can occur when you give a kid a bike.
Biking is proven to benefit the physical and emotional fitness in children and teens. Research shows us that 30 minutes of exercise a day does as much good as ADHD medications. Kids who ride their bikes to and from school are better prepared in the classroom. The key is getting them in the habit at an early age and there’s no better reason than to give them their own bike.
Beyond those immediate benefits to the child, a brand-new bike can transform a family dynamic. I’ll never forget the story of Amy* and her son. She was a single mom who worked full-time. She didn’t have a car, so every day she walked her son to school in the morning, walked home, and then walked back in the opposite direction to the bus stop to catch her ride to work. After receiving his Wish for Wheels bike that changed. Since her son could ride to school with his friends, Amy could now have breakfast with him before heading off to work. Wish for Wheels not only provided that bike but also gave a busy single mom the chance to slow down in the mornings and enjoy her time with her son. Plus, it gave her son a sense of responsibility and independence that he hadn’t previously known.
I’ve heard hundreds of stories like this over the years. The results are the same: When you give a kid a bike, you change lives. Since 2004, Wish has given away at least 50,000 bikes — that’s a lot of young lives and families transformed.
But we have lofty wishes for Wish. There are currently 13,000 kids in the Denver metro area alone who qualify for our bikes — and we want to give a bike to each and every one of them. We’re working to build a more sustainable program so we can fulfill that wish. And Denver is just the beginning — our goal is to expand the Build & Give program into major metro areas across the country.
We have also started the Beyond the Bell STEM-based after school program to get the kids riding. It’s an opportunity to keep in touch with our Wish kids. We teach them bike safety and how to take safe routes to school so they develop confidence and a real love for biking that will last them a lifetime.
We’ve also just launched a new initiative called Community Repair with Denver Police District 3. The goal is to help break down community barriers so kids feel safe going to police stations, firehouses, and community centers to get their bikes worked on. We’re training first-responders on how to fix a tube, air up tires, and other simple mechanical repairs so they can be a friendly, safe resource for their neighborhood. Ultimately, we hope to keep kids riding.
Almost two decades have passed since we began Wish for Wheels. Those first wide-eyed kindergarteners who received their bikes back in 2005 are adults now. Although they outgrew their Wish for Wheels bikes long ago, I hope they still remember the feeling of empowerment they felt on the day they received their very own set of wheels. I, for one, will never forget the looks of pure joy on their faces as those kids claimed their bikes and reclaimed their freedom.
*Not her real name.
About the Author
Brad Appel is the brain behind the bike — the one who makes it all happen — the visionary. He founded Wish for Wheels in 2004 and works tirelessly toward our mission of bringing kids’ dreams a new set of wheels. According to Brad, Wish for Wheels is special because it allows kids to experience the freedom, independence, and success of riding a bike. He enjoys mountain and road biking, and bike rides with his two daughters and son. Brad’s favorite movie is Breaking Away – he loves it when the Italians come to town.
