Bikes for Tikes a hit for third year

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Bicycles are the gifts kids want most, but are the least donated.

A trio of restaurants at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront got together for what has turned into an annual tradition of giving. They call their annual Christmas event “Bikes for Tikes” but there is nothing small about the size of this gift – 100 bicycles for 100 kids in need, all delivered in time for Christmas morning.

The three restaurants, Ice House, Bone Shakers and South Beach Grill are in their third year of the annual tradition.

“I think all our customers did a real good job of bringing everybody together and try to make Christmas a little better for the unfortunate kids in our neighborhood,” Doug Dubois with Ice House told WAVY.com.

“We bought a hundred bikes this year and it all started with two bikes three years ago,” Steve Johnson said. “So great people, this is what Christmas is all about.”

“It’s important to give back to the community and at Christmas it’s most important to give back to the kids,” Byron Madden with South Beach Grill echoed. “So we came up with the bike idea and it’s just grown.”

The don’t just buy the bikes, they put each and every one of them together.

“When you see little kids out here like this, small kids and their face lights up when they get a bike, that’s all the difference in the world,” bike builder Gary Bouguess said.

Kids from the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters will be amongst this year’s recipients. Event organizers are thankful the big guy himself made an appearance this year, a long way from the North Pole.