SacPD Bike Donation Aids Kids, "Tour de North Sacramento"
On Friday, July 6, 2007, the Roberts Family Development Center kicked off its inaugural “Tour de North Sacramento” bike ride. The yellow jersey was up for grabs this year since Lance Armstrong retired last year after seven consecutive victories…oh wait, that was that other “bike ride.” Our tour featured lesser known, but no less important, 6 to 14-year-old children, many from difficult home situations. The ride was conceived and sponsored by Derrell Roberts and the staff at the Roberts Family Development Center, but was accomplished with the assistance of a number of entities and individuals, including the Sacramento Police Department.
Approximately 70 little riders lined up to begin the tour at around 10:30 a.m. The ride was lead by north area patrol officer, Tori Hamilton, in the SacPD pilot car. The route was established – out of the Old North Sacramento neighborhood and through the Woodlake neighborhood, over Highway 160, through the industrial park, and onto the bike trail from Commerce Circle. Mr. Roberts told me that besides traffic safety concerns, the route was chosen so that “my kids could see how people are living in Woodlake, so they could see how they could be living someday.” The ride reached it final destination, Discovery Park, in just over an hour.
Once at Discovery Park, Officer Hamilton turned the riders over to the very capable members of the Sacramento Fire Department. The kids were treated to an SFD sponsored barbecue lunch and picnic. All in all the Inaugural Tour de North Sacramento was a rousing success. The riders all made it safely back to the Center at the end of the afternoon; and, other than about twenty flat tires and a truck loaded with disabled bicycles, everyone was intact!
Mr. Roberts asked me to pass along his continued thanks to Officer Hamilton and to the SacPD Property Section Manager Ash Kozuma and his staff, who supported this ride by donating 8 bicycles and bicycle safety helmets. Without this donation by the Department, some of the kids would have been left out of this great event. He also wanted me to express a general thanks to the men and women of the Sacramento Police Department for the outstanding work you do in the community. Nice job!
The Roberts Family Development Center was founded by Derrell and Tina Roberts as a 501(c) non-profit center. The core mission of the Center is to provide services in the North Sacramento community that will meet the individual needs of each family member. The services offered by the Center include programs in family literacy, parent education, health education, consumer education, child care, English language proficiency, computer competency, recreational needs, after school programs, and family counseling. The Center is located at 770 Darina Avenue in North Sacramento.
The bicycles were donated under the authority of Sacramento City Code 3.84.030 and California Civil Code2080.3 and 2080.4, which allows for donations of certain items to non-profit organizations.
Submitted by Lt. Kevin Gardner
