The death of a motorcyclist three years ago has led those who loved him to create a project to fix up and donate bicycles to people in the Huntington community.
Deborah Porretto and her wife, Lisa Karrer, said they started Brett’s Bicycle Recycle in 2017 to thank the community for its support after Lisa’s brother, Brett Rainey, was killed in a crash. He was 27 years old.
They collect unwanted bicycles, recruit neighborhood volunteers to repair them and then donate the bikes back into the Huntington community to kids and teens in need. They are looking for more volunteers who can help them with the next phase of their project.
Last May they gave away about 70 bicycles, tricycles and scooters at an event in South Huntington. They have more than 30 bikes that are fixed and ready to be donated. In August they plan a bicycle safety event at a local church in the Huntington Station area that will be co-sponsored by Source The Station. The goal is to have 50 or more bikes that they can donate at the event in August to kids, teens and adults in need in the South Huntington community.
Karrer said, “We want to give back to the community that gave so much love and support to us when we lost our brother Brett. We’re trying to keep his passionate and adventurous spirit alive by giving these bikes to the kids our community.”
