SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A love and passion for bikes turned into something Rusty Durham could’ve never dreamed of. Through his own nonprofit and the help of some dedicated volunteers, Durham repairs and donates bikes to homeless people.

What You Need To Know

  • Rusty Durham started “Rusty’s Bicycle Recycle” nearly 20 years ago to help provide bikes to homeless people in need of transportation

  • With the help of more than 15 volunteers, Durham fixes donated bikes and gets them ready for distribution to homeless people in the community

  • Mark, a homeless man, knows the value of a good bike to help get to a job quickly and helps Durham as a way to give back to others like himself

Behind a metal door is what started as passion project for Durham, and now, nearly 20 years later, fixing and donating bikes to the homeless is a way of life.

“I’ve always been interested in bikes, and I’ve always had a bike since I was 12 years old. I’ve been fixing them and such,” Durham said.

Operations for his nonprofit, Rusty’s Bicycle Recycle, are run out of a storage space in Longwood.

Durham noticed a trend that would change his life forever in 2008 while he was feeding people with his church at The Coalition for the Homeless.

“I noticed the deplorable conditions the bikes were that were chained to the fence. A lot of them were missing wheels and missing parts, and when I saw bikes come in, guys that were returning from work, I noticed they were missing brakes,” Durham said.

So, Durham decided to fix those bikes and that kind gesture grew into his nonprofit. Durham has a team of about 15 volunteers, and last year they processed about 2,000 bikes for the homeless.

“We don’t sell the bikes. They are given away to people that need them, and they are so grateful to get these because it does save them an incredible amount of time and allow them to spend more time working and less time walking,” Durham said.

Mark knows firsthand the value of a good bike. He currently doesn’t have a place to call home but helps Durham and the team with fixing bikes so others can have a chance to travel a bit easier. Mark calls Durham a guardian angel for all the work that he does in the community.

“Basically, he’s like the Santa Claus of the bike world," Mark said. "If there was a guy who takes who takes good pride in helping out others, it would be Rusty.”

Durham is grateful for his helpers like Mark and the volunteers and encourages others who wants to help out to give him a call and grab wrench.

“If they are willing to spin a wrench, then we’ll teach them," Durham said. "This only happens because of volunteers.”

For more information on Rusty’s Bicycle Recycle and how you can get involved, go to the nonprofit's website.

If you happen to know someone like Durham who goes above and beyond to help their community, we want to hear all about them. Visit the Spectrum News 13  website to nominate that person as our next Everyday Hero.