Disabled Veterans Assistance Programs expert Kevin Gertz collects abandoned bicycles from Luke Air Force Base and redistributes them to veterans in the Cottonwood area.
Gertz’s initiative began when she recently heard about a homeless veteran who had come to the show’s Cottonwood location in search of work and other assistance. Their workforce specialists were able to find him a construction job, but to get to work he would walk two miles to the job site and two miles back each day. Every weekend he would walk from Camp Verde to Cottonwood to buy groceries and other necessities. Gertz then remembered all the bicycles that had been left on the base when he was in the U.S. Air Force.
Gertz explained that new arrivals at the base often buy bikes to commute while saving money for a car and often leave their bikes behind in the dorms. These bikes end up cluttering your base.
Knowing that Luke Air Force Base was just two hours from Yavapai County, Gertz contacted the dormitory manager and tried to retrieve the abandoned bicycle. After getting permission to pick up the bikes, Gertz and his son took the seven bikes home in a pickup truck.
The bikes, exposed to the heat of the Phoenix sun, needed maintenance and repairs. Gertz made simple repairs, like inflating the tires, which cost about $50 per bike. As more nonprofits became aware of the project, more came forward to help pay for supplies for repairs.
Gertz said the project will provide mobility for veterans in the local community and will also help clean up Luke Air Force Base, benefitting everyone. He will return to base on June 6 with a trailer and bikes to continue the project as long as necessary.
“The goal is to find resources to help veterans for veterans wherever possible,” Gertz said. “Having the Airmen at Luke Air Force Base participate in the welfare of Yavapai County veterans is absolutely incredible.
Mr. Gertz has also worked with Arizona At Work, Catholic Charities, the Nation’s Finest, and Veterans themselves. Currently, Catholic charities fund bike repairs, and Nations Finest keeps the bikes.
“It’s like a perfect world where everything comes together neatly to make a project as good as this succeed,” Gertz said. “It’s just unbelievable.”
As a Specialist in Disabled Veterans Assistance Programs, Mr. Gertz focuses on hiring veterans. He works with veterans experiencing significant barriers to employment identified by the Department of Labor to help them get the training they need.
Gertz said that when he was in the Air Force, there was a saying when recruits arrived during a deployment: “Feed them and put them to bed.” He compared this to his current job. They start by providing applicants with the basic necessities of housing and food, then help them find jobs and work on other vital skills.
“It feels really good to do something so positive to help change someone’s life,” Gertz said. “We are so grateful to have a platform like this to reach out to veterans where we can and help those who can.”
Gertz thanked everyone he had worked with over the years and observed how great it is to come together as a team and achieve something for one aspect of the community.
If you would like to donate one or more semi-operational bicycles in Yavapai County, please contact Kevin Gertz at kgertz@azdes.gov.
