HAMPTON, Va. — It’s a classic childhood memory-learning how to ride a bike, but, unfortunately, not every child is lucky enough to get one and have that experience.
That’s where Jeff Pugh steps in, making it his mission to make sure no child goes without it.
“I always take a bike, no matter what,” said Pugh.
Pugh works in the Hampton Police Department’s building as a custodian and in facilities management for the city of Hampton.
“I've always seen scrappers scrap bikes,” said Pugh. "Well, I beat them to the punch, and I would go around my neighborhood collect bikes, fix them up, and then just leave them on the curb."
Once he fixes them up, he hands them out.
“If a kid asks, they get a bike,” said Pugh. "If I see a kid that needs a bike, then I asked their parents if they need a bike. And if the parent says yeah, then let's move something. Let's do something.”
He’s been doing that for the past two years, all out of his own pocket.
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“Most of them can be fixed with money, or time or effort or take parts from this bike and put it on this bike and whatever,” said Pugh.
When a local apartment reached out for the holidays hoping Hampton police could help with an event, they in turn, called their good friend Jeff Pugh.
“I thought that it would be nice to call the police department and see if we can get donations for the kids to get out and play more and help families out during the time, you know, during Christmas. And they did,” said Wanda Monroe, the property manager at the Sunset Creek Apartments. “It made a big difference, a really big difference.”
Pugh’s help comes from the heart because he once was a kid without a bike.
“I lived in a poor neighborhood,” said Pugh. “So I would find bikes in the neighborhood, trashed out bikes, broken bikes, I had a pipe wrench, a screwdriver, and take and that's how I kept my bikes running.”
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He told me he wanted every kid to experience the kind of freedom his bikes brought him as a kid and still do.
“Bikes let me escape my neighborhood,” said Pugh. "And Hampton, which has amazing libraries, community centers, places where the kids can go, if they have bikes, they can get there easier."
We caught up with Pugh on a day he met a new friend: an 11-year-old with his own business fixing up bikes.
“I think everyone should be able to experience the joy in the feeling of riding a bike,” said Cayden Lewis with Shining Lights Bicycle Ministry.
“It feels right,” said Pugh. "And if it feels good."
And while he was a bit distracted, we decided to surprise him with an award for being this week’s Everyday Hero.
“I like helping,” said Pugh. "I like people. And I know that kids don't always have it easy. So, if I could just be something that brings them happiness, or something that brings them joy that's all it is, like that's all it is. Just letting kids be kids.”
If you know someone doing the right thing when no one is looking, let us know!
Nominate them for an everyday hero award!
