Larry Cress works on a bicycle in the Wheelhouse garage. Cress and his wife Ginny founded the Wheelhouse bicycle ministry to refurbish broken bikes for the poor and carless.
Photo by Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
LIMA — A little-known ministry is refurbishing bicycles for the poor and carless in Lima.
Wheelhouse founders Larry and Ginny Cress, who are among nine winners of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, have loaned hundreds of refurbished bicycles to those in need since they started the ministry in 2017.
“Everybody says transportation is the issue in Lima,” Larry Cress said. “Would people ride bicycles? Nobody knew.”
The Cresses quickly got their answer.
The Wheelhouse has refurbished and loaned more than 1,000 bicycles to those in need in five years, according to the couple’s nomination form.
Mechanics who volunteer at the Wheelhouse refurbish old, damaged bicycles, which are then loaned to adults who have no other means of transportation.
Clients are asked to spend at least an hour and a half working with the mechanics, who teach basic maintenance and safety skills like how to lock and clean the bike.
In return, clients have access to free repairs at the Wheelhouse until they return the bikes.
The need for refurbished bicycles continues to grow as more people enter drug rehabilitation and seek alternative transportation due to driver’s license suspensions, Ginny Cress said.
In the last year alone, volunteers at the bicycle ministry have refurbished more than 200 bikes, including dozens of bikes for the Lima Police Department’s Safety City program.
The Cresses, both cycling enthusiasts and retired schoolteachers, relish the opportunity to empower those in need and share their faith with people who visit the Wheelhouse, often ending their sessions in prayer.
“We wanted it to be a place where we could share through our actions, show the love of Jesus and how Jesus helps people,” Ginny Cress said.
