Nearly 400 bikes gifted to Montgomery County families by Operation Blue Elf Bikes and Badges

Nearly 400 Montgomery County families will be celebrating Christmas this year by teaching their children how to ride a new bike after a successful Operation Blue Elf Bikes and Badges campaign. 

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office celebrated its 7th year participating in the campaign, receiving a total of 387 bikes this year to gift to families in need, said Sheriff Rand Henderson. 

On YourCourierNews.com: Houston suburb named most generous city in U.S., according to GoFundMe report

“They wouldn’t have Christmas if it weren’t for this,” Henderson said as he stood in front of a row of donated bicycles inside the Walmart on College Park Drive in The Woodlands Friday morning. “The sad part is, every year we have seen on Santa’s list hygiene items (as well). It just shows you how needy some of our families are so we definitely want to make sure they get that this time of year.” 

Operation Blue Elf Bikes and Badges marks the end of the agency’s volunteerism and charity work that employees do year-round — including food drives and charity campaigns on autism, veterans and breast cancer, said Lt. Scott Spencer. 

The agency partners with other organizations such as Woodforest National Bank and Waste Connections to provide donations to families, Spencer said.

Woodforest National Bank donates $10,000 for the agency to be able to purchase bicycles for children, while Waste Connections provides and assembles many of the bikes donated, he said. 

Walmart also provides a discounted price at the volume that the agency purchases, said Patricia Brown, president of Woodforest National Bank’s Conroe market. 

Since the agency started nearly a decade ago, the agency and partners have seen an increase in a need for a program such as this, officials said.

“We’re seeing more of a need, especially when you get to the end of the year and the extra expenses that families have to be able to create a Christmas for kids,” Brown said. “But, we’re also seeing that even from our organizations that provide food to families. The food and shelter piece is really big. We are definitely seeing an increase in needing help.” 

On YourCourierNews.com: Montgomery County volunteers will place wreaths on veteran graves this weekend. Here’s what to know.

But as the need continues to grow, so do partnerships with the agency, Henderson said.

“As we continue to do this and people see the impact it makes on the community, more and more folks have stepped up,” he said, noting the partnerships, which also includes H-E-B. “Some of these gifts are the only gifts these kids will get. And we do it a little differently. We go through the schools, the counselors. And they’re the ones that give us the list of needy children. We are able to pull from them and provide toys that are specific to their needs.” 

According to a 2022 Associated Press poll, 57 percent of adults said it was harder to afford gifts for the holidays, compared to 2021, where 40 percent of adults said it was tougher to buy holiday gifts.

Most adults who said it was harder are considered lower income, the AP poll states. Of those who found it harder to afford holiday gifts in 2022, 91 percent cut back on their giving.