Wish Book 2023: ‘This bike shop will help a lot of people get their lives together’

Life hasn’t been easy for Paul Foxx. He has been homeless now for some 20 years, dealing with harsh weather conditions, violence and the vast unpredictability that comes with life on the street. Most recently, he’s been living in a tent under a bridge in downtown San Jose.

“That’s what I can do right now,” the 65-year-old Foxx says. “I don’t have enough to rent a place. ” Despite his troubles, Foxx comes across as quite chipper and positive as he talks about how the free bike he received from Good Karma Bikes improved his situation.

“The bike made my life a lot easier,” he says. “I was able to take care of all kinds of business. ” Foxx is one of thousands of people who have benefited from the free bikes given out by , a San Jose nonprofit that got its start in 2008, and officially incorporated the following year.

The organization works to empower their clients by providing them with a much-needed form of transportation. To date, the nonprofit has given out approximately 10,000 bikes and provided services — such as patching flat tires and making other repairs — to nearly 50,000 people. The vast majority of the clients are homeless, although there are also sizable contingents of veterans, low-wage workers, refugees and low-income families.

No one is turned away because they cannot pay. “Think about all the ways a bike can impact a person’s daily life,” says Jenny Circle, Good Karma Bikes’ director of development. “It connects them to their community.

It connects them to their social services. It connects them to their family. ” Through the Mercury News’ annual Wish Book campaign, which seeks to raise money for the most vulnerable in our communities, Good Karma Bikes is hoping to raise $10,000 to cover the cost to refurbish bikes for clients in need, providing them with a self-sufficient form of transportation that can lead to a better overall quality of life.

The grant would benefit approximately 400 individuals. Jim Gardner, the CEO and founder of Good Karma Bikes, explains that the organization at least partially owes its start some 15 years ago to his lack of success of in the tech world “I was 0-4 in tech startups,” he remembers. Instead of rushing off to try his luck with tech startup No.

5, Gardner decided to take a close look at his life — with a special emphasis on seeing if what he was doing was making a difference in the world. “I wasn’t satisfied with my answer,” he says. So he decided to do something about it.

“I went down to St. James Park and started fixing bikes,” says Gardner, who had experience working on his own bikes over the years. He also witnessed firsthand the significant role that a bike can play in the life of a person in need.

“It only took a few moments to find out that it wasn’t about transportation — it was about self-esteem,” he says. Gardner quickly took operations to the next level and founded Good Karma Bikes, which refurbishes donated bikes and then grants them to those in need. “The need was overwhelming,” he says of the initial response to Good Karma’s services.

“One of our first clients told me something. He said, ‘There will never be enough beds (for people in need). ’ And I was like, ‘There will never be enough bikes.

’” Fortunately, the public has responded to Good Karma’s call for bike donations over the years. “Our community is extremely generous with bike donations,” says Circle, showcasing a room filled with donated bikes that are waiting to be refurbished. “We get some really nice road bikes.

People get them, ride them a few times, and then decide it’s not their thing. ” Roughly 54 percent of the bikes that are donated to Good Karma end up being given away. Those remaining are sold at their bike shop at 82 South Montgomery St.

in downtown San Jose, just a short walk from SAP Center and Diridon Station. Bike enthusiasts from all around the area flock to the shop for the good selection of bikes — including road bikes, tandems, children’s bikes and much more — at great prices. For example, the shop recently was selling a Specialized Roubaix road bike with an estimated value of $6,000-$8,000 for $1,200.

“We’ve got the best prices around,” Circle says. That’s especially true if you happen to be in the market for a young kid’s bike, which are given out for free at Good Karma. (These free kids bikes are ones with 20-inch wheels or smaller, appropriate for “a kid about up to third grade – about eight years old,” says Circle.

) “It’s magical,” Circle says of what it’s like to see a child receive a free bike. “Some kid might say, ‘Now I get to go out and ride with my brother and keep up. ’” The money earned at the shop — through both sales and repairs — goes toward funding the Good Karma’s charitable efforts.

Right now, the nonprofit’s revenues break down to being approximately 55 percent earned and 45 percent through donations. Although they are looking to receive $10,000 from the Mercury News’ Wish Book campaign, Circle stresses that they welcome any size donation. “Even a dollar makes a difference at Good Karma Bikes,” Circle says.

“That’s the cost of a brake cable. ” The donations have definitely made a difference in the life of Foxx, who says he doesn’t have the money for a car, but still needs transportation to get to appointments, run errands and go about his daily routine. “The bike that they gave me helps me do all that,” he says.

“I wouldn’t be as far as I am right now without them. ” He says he’s close to getting out from living under the bridge and finding real housing. “I’m not a street person,” he says.

“I’m a house person. ” Besides, he’s got other goals that he’s trying to reach. “I want to be very rich,” he says.

“I’m going to try to open up my own business. ” Overall, Foxx feels like he’s on the road to something better in his life and he links the progress he’s making to the help he’s gotten from Good Karma Bikes. And if it worked for him, he reasons, it will work for others as well.

“This bike shop will help a lot of people get their lives together,” he says. Wish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.

Donations will help cover the cost to refurbish bikes for clients in need, providing them with a self-sufficient form of transportation that can lead to a better overall quality of life. The grant would help provide bikes to approximately 400 individuals. Donate at or mail in this .

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