10-year-old girl sets up charity fixing bikes and donating them to other kids

A 10-year-old girl from Minto, New South Wales, has been using her spare time and pocket money to restore broken bikes for other kids. Tia Brennen and her family have donated 130 bikes since February.

Tia’s mum, Clarissa, picks the bikes up and drops them off with charities, while dad Simon does most of the fixing. However, it is Tia who has been the driving force behind their efforts.

Australia’s Daily Telegraph reports that the idea came about when the family were at a caravan park at Swan Lake on the South Coast.

“I saw all these bikes at the rubbish bins and I asked my mum if I could take the bikes home. I wanted to give the bikes to kids that need them and I want them to have fun and do some exercise and be healthy.”

Clarissa said she couldn’t take the bikes home because there wasn’t enough car space, but Tia held onto the idea and started appealing for bike donations when they came home.

Tia cleans and paints the bikes and her five year old sister Harmony test rides them.

“We didn't know quite how big this would get and she is always hungry for more,” said Clarissa when interviewed by the Daily Mail. “I think I will have to look into making it a registered charity.”

Tia now works with a number of local charities, plus Bikes for Life, an organisation that provides bikes for children in Cambodia.

“Some of my bikes have gone there too which is really good because I want to help more than just our local community,” said Tia.