César Chávez Elementary hosts 13th annual Bike Swap

By donating, volunteering or shopping, the Davis community came together to support its local elementary schools 

By PIPER AWEEKA — city@theaggie.org

Just before noon on Sunday, April 12, the parking lot of César Chávez Elementary school was packed with vehicles. As rain drizzled down, the amount of cars with bike racks nearly outnumbered those without. Children accompanied by their parents made their way down the school’s outdoor hallway toward a gym filled with an extensive variety of bicycles.

This year marks the 13th annual César Chávez Elementary (CCE) Bike Swap. Advertised on the event website as taking place whether “rain or shine,” volunteers sporting rain jackets and neon vests were stationed throughout the César Chávez campus. 

Jill Bonner, event coordinator for the Bike Swap, was busy checking in with the volunteer staff. Bonner described her history as bike coordinator at César Chávez Elementary. 

“My son went through seven years here [at César Chávez],” Bonner said. “[At the time] we wanted money to have incentives for kids to bike.” 

Bonner highlighted the origins of Davis’ largest bike sales event as inspired by a similar city-wide occasion. 

“I had seen the Davis High School Ski Swap,” Bonner said. “I went over and I met the guy who started it and said, ‘I’m thinking of doing it with bikes. What do you think?’ He said, ‘Oh my God, it’s going to go so big.’”

Bonner noted that 405 donated bikes arrived the night prior: evidence that the CCE Bike Swap has grown exponentially. Though her son has long since left the elementary school, Bonner noted how the event has expanded to include not only donated bikes, but also consigned ones as well. 

“About six years ago, I started wanting to make [the Bike Swap] for the larger community,” Bonner said. “If a bike comes in and is donated, all the money goes to the school. If it’s consigned, the consignor gets 75% and the school gets 25%.” 

With volunteers fine-tuning bikes, helping with the children’s bake sale and guiding inquisitive attendees, Bonner noted how the expanded event and volunteer network has allowed the swap to reach other local schools as well.

“Most of these [volunteers] are parents,” Bonner said. “If the parents at Patwin [Elementary] want to fundraise, they get bikes and if they donate them to the swap, all the money that those bikes sell for, 75% goes to Patwin and 25% goes to César Chávez.”

Highlighting the financial success of the annual event, Bonner discussed the destination for all of the fundraised money.

“Last year was our biggest year,” Bonner said. “We cleared over $15,000 for this school and $2,000 for the other schools [...] All the money goes to the [Parent-Teacher Association (PTA)] programs. If Patwin gets money, it goes to their PTA. If Chávez gets money — which won’t be Chávez next year — it goes to their PTA program.”

Laurel Esseff, a first-time event volunteer, described how significant the Bike Swap has become.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and it's been a lot of fun,” Esseff said. “It’s just a nice way for all of the community to come together, support the schools and get everyone on bikes [...] And Dos Coyotes donated burritos for us.”

Adult volunteers at the event were not limited to parents. Jamaica Lambie, bike tech teacher at King High School, relayed his familiarity to both Bonner and the fundraiser.

“I’ve known Jill [Bonner] for some time, but [CCE Bike Swap] is an institution here in Davis,” Lambie said. “I’m a big believer that a bike is endlessly refurbishable and so there’s no reason for them to ever end up in the landfill [...] This event is one of the best tools to take extra bikes in Davis and get them to hands in need.”

Accompanying Esseff and Lambie was an abundance of student volunteers. Highlighting his appreciation for these helpers, Lambie reinforced how involved the Davis community has become.

“The kid volunteers have been great,” Lambie said. “They’ve been washing bikes for us, selling cookies, supplying us with coffee and endless energy.” 

Mateo Wolff, a student at North Davis Elementary, volunteered at the event with the UC Davis 4-H organization. A College of Agricultural and Environmental Science program, 4-H offers children ages 5 to 19 opportunities to participate in hands-on, experiential learning. 

“I really like bikes a lot,” Wolff said. “Because we’re helping, you can look at all the bikes before everybody else sees them. You can also ride them around or ride them to where you need to put them.”

Despite the raindrops, the positive community atmosphere could be felt by those in attendance. Updates and information about bike donations or volunteer opportunities can be found at the Bike Swap website.

Written By: Piper Aweeka — city@theaggie.org