Volunteers are Key to Success

iCan Bike is a bicycle camp for people with disabilities to learn how to ride a conventional bicycle. The program is offered in partnership with Rainbow’s End Optimist Club, Indy Parks and Easterseals Crossroads and is brought to our area through iCan Shine.
Israel is an 11-year old boy who participated in iCan Bike in 2015. Israel wanted to learn to ride a two-wheel bicycle, but he was having some difficulty making that happen. His family turned to iCan Bike and found that the team approach to learning from professionals was a really good option. “We wanted Israel to learn how to ride for a number of reasons. It builds confidence, independence, inclusion – all those things,” said Israel’s father.
iCan Shine operates its iCan Bike program with partners all over the country. Since its inception in 2007, the program has successfully taught 20,000 people with disabilities how to ride a conventional two-wheel bicycle. The program further states that it operates with an 80 percent success rate.
How it Works
Riders participate in the same 75-minute session each day for five days during the iCan Bike program. Riders use adapted bicycles at the beginning of the week and gradually move toward more independent riding on traditional bicycles as they progress. In Indianapolis, the program offered in partnership with Easterseals Crossroads and Rainbow’s End Optimist Club uses an IndyParks facility – Perry Park Ice Skating Rink. This enclosed, circular arena works very well for beginning riders.
The day-to-day progress of the participants is fun to watch. There is a huge difference in many of the riders as the week moves from day one to the final day. On that final day, typically 80 percent of the participants or more are successfully riding on their own and the remaining group has made tremendous progress.
Volunteers Truly Make it Happen
Riders are assigned to a team of volunteers who literally run/walk alongside the riders throughout the entire learning process. This method assures the riders that someone is right there at all times, which has a tremendous effect on building confidence and trust. The same rider is paired with the same team of volunteers each day furthering that element of trust for the riders.
Easterseals Crossroads works diligently with Rainbow’s End Optimist Club to provide 80 volunteers during the week of iCan Bike. We specifically look for running clubs, track teams, cross country teams and other sports teams to fill the volunteer needs for iCan Bike. We have been lucky to engage high schools and middle schools who take this volunteer role very seriously and do a great job for us. Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Center Grove and Southport have provided us with terrific volunteers for the past several years.
It is difficult to judge who is most proud at the end of the week; the riders surely, but the effect on the volunteer spotters is worth noting. Everyone feels the impact of the week, from the parents and caregivers to the entire program staff (iCan Shine, Easterseals Crossroads, Rainbow’s End Optimist Club).
After volunteering for a week at iCan Bike, volunteers have been eager to let us know their thoughts about what they have liked best:

• “I loved being able to see my rider progress each day.”
• “I really enjoyed helping someone learn to ride a bike.”
• “It was so fun to see my rider smile after she learned that she could do it.”
• “I liked knowing that my rider trusted me to help him achieve his goal.”

Individual success is the goal, but with that accomplishment comes the realization that a group can often accomplish so much when the goal is so rich.