Founder of bike drive looking for stolen cycles

Chester Jackson refurbishes old bicycles and donates them to needy children at Christmastime.

But it hasn't been easy keeping the presents at his East Coast Body Shop on Farr Road.

The first year Jackson ran the bike drive, 140 bikes were snatched during the night hours. And two weeks ago, on Sept. 30, thieves struck again -- this time stealing 14 bikes from behind a locked wooden fence on the property.

A security camera taped the alleged crime at 7:49 p.m., and it clearly shows a teenager grabbing one of the bicycles and throwing it over the fence with the help of accomplices. The teenager is a light-complexioned, black boy sporting an Afro. But Jackson said he doesn't want to press charges. He just wants the bikes returned and, if possible, to mentor the young men who stole them.

"I want the person, people, individuals that did it to come and help me repair the bicycles," he said. "Sending them downtown is not going to do anything but help the city of Columbus. You have to pay a fine to get out of jail.

"The only thing they have to do is come and say 'Hey, look, I'm sorry. Let me help you get these kids' bicycles together.' And it's all forgotten."

Jackson, 60, started the bike drive three years ago after collecting old bikes from people selling scrap metal. He said a little boy suggested he begin collecting them, and God gave him a vision to help children in need.

The first two years, Jackson said, he distributed a total of about 700 bikes, which went to people as far as Atlanta.

So far this year, he has collected about 190. He hopes to collect about 400 bikes and distribute them Dec. 20 to children in the community.

He said the organization's aim is to teach children values.

Jackson, a native of Stewart County, Ga., finished 12 years of school and moved to Detroit. He joined the Marines and moved to Columbus with the military in 1974. He started his body shop 26 years ago. He is married with four grown children and seven grandchildren. And says he was raised with strong family values.

"As a child, I didn't see what I had," he said. "What I had is what my parents gave me."

Jackson said that's what he's trying to impart to this generation. The nonprofit organization that he launched for the annual bike drive is called "Today's Youth in a Challenging Tomorrow."

He said bikes are more than a mode of transportation. The wheels symbolize two parents that many children wish that they had. The bar represents the backbone that holds the family together. And the bike chain represents the driving force of life.

"This bicycle is nothing just standing up here," he said with tears in his eyes. "But once a child gets on this bike, it's a vision in motion. A bike may not mean much to a lot of people, but to a child it's a dream come true."

In addition to the bicycle drive, Jackson has also started a "Wishing Well for Children."

Last week, the organization participated in the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic Parade with a wishing well float, which now sits in front of his body shop. He said it was an opportunity to spread awareness and solicit bike donations from the community.

He said the wishing well is symbolic of the dreams that children have for the future.

"There's a fountain within the well," he said. "The reason you see the well so high is that it keeps the child from falling in it. But there's living water in the well. Symbolically you draw water from the well and you nourish the child."

The organization is developing another float for the Nov. 8 Fountain City Classic between Albany State and Fort Valley State universities. The float will represent a classroom and will be followed by 14- to 18-year-old students dressed in appropriate attire for the professions they aspire to.

Jackson, a local gospel and jazz singer, said he's also starting a mentoring program and has also organized a Music Showcase for the past three years. It will be held in the spring, and winners will receive free music studio time.

"It's not about me, it's about the children," Jackson said. "We want to embrace them and to let them know it's okay to give. It's okay to ask. It's okay to share. I think we have kind of forgotten all about that as parents."

That's what he wants to share with the teenagers who allegedly stole his bicycles, and he hopes others will join him in his campaign to save Columbus' youths.

"We are afraid to approach a person now-a-days because their pants are sagging," he said. "But don't worry about that. Get to know the child. Teach the child, and all of that will go away. You're worrying about the wrong things. Get to the child's heart."

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Founder of bike drive looking for stolen cycles."