Katrina McDonald got some wheels for Christmas — two to be exact.

On Christmas Eve, Katrina, 14, and her mother, Karon, headed to the Reno-Sparks Kiwanis Bike Program shop at 2605 Comstock Way in Reno, to pick up a teal green, refurbished mountain bike. Katrina picked it out herself, as an early Christmas present from Santa, free of charge.

Ellen Jacobson, program coordinator for more than 20 years, showed Katrina the safety ropes as she was fitted for a proper helmet.

“She’s got new tires and new tubes on that bike,” Jacobson said, adding that the program donates nearly 200 bikes over Christmas alone to children in need. “And this gives her some freedom, too.”

Karon, who mentioned that Katrina really wanted a cell phone for Christmas, said this Christmas is tight, given that she will be losing her job in a couple of weeks.

“I can’t afford a cell phone for her,” Karon said, as she watched her daughter ride her new bike up the street. “And especially with my job right now, it’s tough.”

Karon, who works at the Reno Housing Authority with elderly and disabled citizens, will be laid off once her three-year work grant expires soon after Christmas. Karon said she plans to focus on school in the meantime, studying gerontology up at Truckee Meadows Community College, and she hopes something comes up soon.

“At least I know it’s coming,” Karon said about her job termination. “I do like working with the elderly and the disabled, though. It’s what I want to do.”

Meanwhile, Karon said she has found help along the way, like the Re-Entry program offered through TMCC. The Re-Entry program, Karon explained, helps displaced families and single parents afford school and qualify for programs like the Kiwanis holiday bike giveaway.

“It’s helped me out so much,” Karon said. “It’s a very encouraging program, especially now.”

Out on the street, Katrina did a test run on her new bike, and Jacobson beamed as she watched.

“You need to give kids the chance to explore outside the boundaries of their home,” Jacobson said, “and they need to do it safely and responsibly.”

Safely and responsibly, the two key words for the Kiwanis bike program. Jacobson teaches children about riding bikes in traffic, proper safety attire and even how to repair their owns bikes.

“If you don’t give them a chance to learn, they never will,” Jacobson said, as she instructed Katrina how to properly load and unload her bike on a bike rack. “They need to know they can do it.”

Back at their shop, Jacobson and her husband, Roger, who also coordinates the program, have 400 bikes at any given time, going through nearly 3,000 in a year. All bikes are donated, Jacobson said, and are repaired by members of the community like Boy Scout troops and then are donated either to Washoe County schools to deserving children or sold for bigger festivals like Burning Man.

“It’s been a wonderful response,” Jacobson said. “We used to donate 200 bikes a year and now we donate 200 bikes for Christmas alone.”

And Katrina was just one of those 200 on Christmas Eve, although the winter weather wasn’t so accomodating.

“I usually ride bikes during the summer,” Katrina said, before adding a heartfelt “thank you” to Jacobson.

Her first destination on the bike?

“Probably the Sparks Marina,” Katrina said, with a smile.

For more information about the Reno Sparks Kiwanis Bike Program or to make a donation, call the Jacobsons at 746-9310 or e-mail them at Kiwanis_bikes@sbcglobal. net.