Battlers Bikes: South Burnett man slams St Vincent de Paul over donated bikes

A retired engineer who has restored dozens of bikes to be distributed by St Vincent de Paul said he was stunned to discover the bikes were being sold off instead of donated to children in need.

A retired mechanical engineer who has devoted months to restoring used bicycles to be given to disadvantaged kids on the South Burnett by the St Vincent de Paul Society has lashed out at the charity organisation, claiming the bikes were instead being sold for profit.

Ross Parks, retired mechanical engineer, making a difference with his bikes

Ross Parks has restored 85 bikes in the past six months as part of his Battlers Bikes initiative, which was designed to give underprivileged kids access to a fun childhood activity they might not have otherwise been able to afford.

Before relocating to Wondai in March, Mr Parks lived in the Glass House Mountains area, where he restored and donated more than 350 bikes that were offered to anyone in need.

Mr Parks said his project received massive community support when he first posted it to social media, and he reached an agreement with Vinnies that the charity would distribute the restored bikes around his new home on the South Burnett.

Restored bikes at second hand dealer. Photo: Ross Parks

He said it wasn’t until he was walking through Kingaroy that he discovered the bikes he had donated were on sale at another second-hand shop.

Mr Parks said he was shocked to find his bikes had been offloaded by Vinnies.

“I’ve been played for six months,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it, I recognised all of my bikes in the shop and they were for sale!”

Ross Parks prepares bikes to donate. Photo: Ross Parks

A St Vincent de Paul spokeswoman said the organisation appreciated Mr Parks’ intentions, but were unable to distribute several of the bicycles as they were in an “unusable” condition or warranted safety concerns.

“When we receive donations that aren’t in safe or suitable conditions, we seek options to recycle these goods in a sustainable way,” she said.

“One way in which we do this is passing on damaged or unusable donations to the tip, where parts can be used for repair.”

Mr Parks claimed Vinnies ignored multiple requests for an explanation, which he says only confused the situation further.

He said he was under the impression for the six-month period that the bikes would be going specifically to struggling children in the South Burnett.

The fallout has driven Mr Parks to instead collaborate with Gundoo Day Care Centre in Cherbourg, working closely with centre co-ordinator Hazel Kelly.

Ms Kelly said the new team could already see the impact on the faces of the children who have received a bike through the program.

“These children are speechless when they see the bikes,” Ms Kelly said.

“There are a few kids really doing it tough around here and they’re like, ‘Are you serious?’.”

Miss Kelly shared the story of one boy whose family couldn’t afford to replace his stolen bike.

“I called Ross and he brought one right over,” she said.

“The little boy puts his new bike under his bed every night to keep it safe, he loves it.”

Mr Parks and Ms Kelly will continue working together on the Battlers Bikes project.

Originally published as Battlers Bikes: South Burnett man slams St Vincent de Paul over donated bikes