Ben’s Bikes owner Sam Chandler made a donation last week to help some Boys & Girls Club children get moving.

Chandler donated 15 new bicycles and sold helmets to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula at cost, said executive director Mary Budke.

“We had a good year,” Chandler said.

Tessa Jackson, the Sequim Boys & Girls Club’s unit director, said they’ll split the bikes and helmets between the Sequim and Port Angeles facilities, with club members submitting a request and staff assessing need.

“It’ll be a delayed Christmas for sure,” Jackson said.

Budke said the donation came out of the blue for the clubs, and that Chandler has always helped the clubs with donations to their annual auction. He also helped pay for half of a bike prior to Christmas for a Sequim High School student, so he could get to and from school.

“He’s truly been impressive to me,” Budke said of Chandler.

Club staff plan to apply for an upcoming grant for outdoor summer programming so that club members can possibly earn their own bikes, too, she added.

For more about Ben’s Bikes, 1251 W. Washington St., visit bensbikessequim.com or call 360-683-2666.

For more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, 400 W. Fir St., visit bgc-op.org or call 360-683-8095.

Sam Chandler, owner of Ben’s Bikes, and Mary Budke, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, sit on some new bikes Chandler donated for in-need club members in Sequim and Port Angeles. Tessa Jackson, Sequim’s unit director, and Heath Baker, Sequim’s program director, in back row, said students will submit requests and staff will assess need. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash