By ANA RISANO
Insider Staff Writer
Project Santa has brought cheer to families for nearly three decades with an annual bicycle giveaway. This year will mark the last of such events, with the nonprofit shifting gears to instead provide year-round support to similar organizations.
Southern Pines resident Earl Wright began the nonprofit in the mid-1990s. It started as a personal service out of his house — collecting, fixing and giving away bikes to children who might not otherwise receive a gift during the holidays.
Now, it’s a recognized organization that reaches people locally and regionally. Previously, Wright and his crew have given bikes to out-of-county families and received donations from across the nation.
After this giveaway, Project Santa will roll back, still gathering and repairing bikes, but in partnership with other organizations for distribution.
“Oh, it’s sad,” Wright said about it being the last Christmas giveaway. “It’s sad because I did it for so many years — 29 years on Christmas day. I’m going to miss it now. Now, don’t get me wrong, but the body done got old.”
Wright shared that the work is catching up to him and those who help him. He has worked until 3 or 4 a.m. sometimes to make sure enough bicycles are fixed and ready to ride.
“It’s quite an undertaking,” said top helper Phil Benton. “I don’t know how he did it, honestly, but he did.”
The decision also came after a tumultuous year of the nonprofit looking for a proper space to store and work on its bikes, which grow from an inventory of a couple hundred to often more than a 1,000 during the holiday season.
Right now, Project Santa is back in its old location, a warehouse off N.C. 5 in Aberdeen, for a final spin. The nonprofit moved out earlier this year due to building renovations and the retirement of the space donor, John O’Malley. The plan was to move temporarily into a storage facility owned by the Moore County Airport. But, Wright and his team realized it was not the best fit for their needs.
“You know the song, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?’ Well, when we went out to that airport space, we realized that it just couldn’t work. And then once we came back in here we realized how good we’ve had it,” said Benton. “Because this is an excellent space. There’s room for bikes. We’ve got a workspace. There are lights, electricity, restrooms. It’s a perfect space for us.”
Project Santa plans to dedicate this last giveaway to O’Malley, who donated space for about 16 years. The nonprofit is using its regular space inside the warehouse along with a smaller, external building. Benton hopes to continue occupying the latter, which can hold about 150 bikes, but it’s under discussion. Benton and Wright thanked O’Malley for his support.
“We can’t say nothing but ‘thank you,’” Wright said. “Thank you. We can’t say nothing bad because there ain’t no way we can because he’s been amazing.”
O’Malley also provides space to other nonprofit organizations, including Toys for Tots and the Moore Free and Charitable Clinic. Ever-humble, O’Malley gave all kudos back to Wright in a brief interview, saying Wright is part of what makes this community special.
“He’s always been a great person to have around, and I think he’s been a great asset to the entire community, and I wish him the best,” O’Malley said. “His heart is in it, and he wants to bring a lot of good things to a lot of people. So all I can say is we are lucky to have him in this community.”
Wright also thanked several of his helpers and regular supporters, including Benton; his partner, Sharon Thompson; DJ King Curtiss; Walmart for letting the nonprofit use the parking lot; and Sandhills Moving Co., which has provided trucks and drivers to move bikes for several years.
Wright has received several awards for his community-focused work, including the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, Man of the Year from Moore County Community Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills Builder’s Cup Award.
Going forward, Project Santa plans to continue collecting bicycles to clean up, but instead of hosting its own giveaway, the nonprofit will send them to similar organizations to connect individuals with a bike regionally and in other parts of the world.
“Project Santa will affiliate with Bikes for the World, a charity that sends bikes to Africa and Central America. These bicycle donations can drastically change people’s lives, making it possible to attend school and work that may be 10 to 20 miles away,” Benton said.
“It’s hoped that bicycles donated here in our community will get kids out of the house, away from TV and computers, away from social media and experience a physical activity. It is, however, impossible for us here to understand the impact on the life of someone in Africa who receives a bicycle, made possible by people right here in Moore County.”
For this year, Project Santa is in need of new bikes. Benton said they are a bit behind schedule, having taken the nonprofit’s typical end-of-year surplus to the mountains last winter to give to families affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Wright said they have about 200 bikes and are in need of at least 800 more to meet their goal.
“If you can donate, we need it now, so we can go ahead and get everything together,” Wright said. “So we can really make this off the chain.”
Bike donations can be dropped off at Rainbow Cycles in downtown Southern Pines. Monetary donations can be made at Woodforest National Bank located inside the Walmart Supercenter in Aberdeen. Checks should be made payable to Project Santa of the Sandhills.
The event will occur on Christmas Day, at the Walmart Supercenter parking lot in Aberdeen, 250 Turner St. It runs from 8-11 a.m.
Volunteers will help children pick out their bikes while adults wait nearby. All children must be accompanied by an adult — over 18 years old — and bikes are limited to one per child and four per family.
For more information on how to donate or volunteer: visit projectsantaofthesandhills.org/, call (910) 638-5485 or email projectsantaofthesandhills@gmail.com.
Contact Ana Risano at (910) 585-6396 or ana@thepilot.com.
