December 7, 2021
Kids Pedal Power: Making Bikes a
Wheel-ality for Children In Need 
As a child, the day you learn to ride a bike is arguably one of the most exciting days of your life. Unfortunately, this is not something all children are able to experience, but thanks to a member of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, it’s an experience that he’s been able to provide to underprivileged children throughout the county for more than ten years.

In 2009, Deputy Rick Serra started the Holiday Sharing Fund while he was a Community Policing Deputy in the City of Oldsmar. From bike shops to civic organizations, Oldsmar businesses and residents began donating bikes to Deputy Serra and the sheriff’s office for kids in need during the holiday season.

Following the recession, many businesses and organizations could no longer afford to support his efforts with donations. Former Oldsmar Fire Chief, Scott McGuff, suggested that Deputy Serra should register as a non-profit. Taking Chief McGuff’s suggestion, Deputy Serra applied for non-profit status and in 2012, the Holiday Sharing Fund was officially recognized in the state of Florida.

“We’ve partnered with a lot of people to make this the way it is. Everyone has a job,” said Serra. The process of getting a bike to a child in need hasn’t changed from when the Holiday Sharing Fund first started. In order to determine who gets a bike, the child must be identified by teachers and administrators at their school. The children’s names and their wish lists are provided to Oldsmar Community Policing deputies and the East Lake Rotary Club, which raises funds to buy toys and other necessities. Deputies are then able to gift a new bike, helmet, and occasionally a lock to children in need. In addition to providing bikes to children identified by community partners, the Holiday Sharing Fund has also given a minimum of 25 bikes every year to the Mattie Williams Neighborhood Family Center in Safety Harbor.

While the Holiday Sharing Fund has had tremendous success, Deputy Serra has seen opportunities to grow the program to benefit children year-round, leading to a name change: Kids Pedal Power. The new name is intended to be more inclusive with their year-round efforts with partners like Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties.

“On average we give away about 200 bikes at Christmas time, but that’s almost doubled since our recent partnership with Habitat for Humanity,” Serra said. “At the time we had named it the Holiday Sharing Fund because we primarily did everything at Christmas time, but it was silly to wait until Christmas to give kids bikes, especially when they were in exigent circumstances, and now with our new partnership with Habitat for Humanity, changing the name made sense.”

While bikes have been the organization’s primary focus, Deputy Serra and members from the community have come together to fundraise money to support the families of local fallen first responders too.

Kids Pedal Power also hosts bike rodeos in partnership with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital by utilizing their bike trailer that has all the equipment for a rodeo. “At the rodeos, we check helmets, do a maintenance check on the child’s bike, and register the bike with the sheriff’s office in case the bike ever gets lost or stolen,” said Serra. “Any child who showed up without a bike, we’d let them borrow one of the bikes in the trailer, so they can participate in the rodeo. If we ever saw a child with a helmet that was too big, small or expired, we’d also provide them with a new one.”

With more than ten years under his belt of donating bikes and interacting with so many members in the community, one moment stood out to Serra. “I had been helping the same woman and her family for several years. She lived in west Oldsmar and I had seen her transition of leaving her husband and becoming a single mother,” Serra said. “She was in our program for about three years and then she stopped. Later on, she saw me and said that she wanted to participate as a giver, not a receiver.”

“When you look at community policing, that’s where it was successful because we setup a program, used the people, the city, and other entities to get everybody involved,” said Serra. “I don’t get to see the kids when they get their gifts, but seeing how grateful the parents are, that was the “ah-ha” moment because you see that the program is actually effective.”

To date more than 1,500 children have received a bike through the program.

If you or someone you know is in need, Kids Pedal Power might be able to help. They are also accepting donations year-round. Visit https://holidaysharingfund.com to make a donation or submit a request for assistance.

Last year’s calendar was a reminder that as an agency, we’re engaging with the community in a positive way and already delivering on many of the “asks” being made of law enforcement. This year we’re addressing a very common ask: an agency calendar dedicated to our Canine Unit! We also took the opportunity to highlight our contract cities by taking photographs of our dogs at recognizable locations throughout our service area.

Calendars are now available for pick-up at the Sheriff’s Administration Building (10750 Ulmerton Road, Largo) and the North District Station (2496 Bayshore Boulevard, Dunedin).
‘Tis The Season- Holiday Meal Deliveries 
As many look forward to enjoying their favorite holiday dishes, more than 100,000 Pinellas County residents struggle with food security. That number had only increased this past year and half as many are still struggling from the impact of the pandemic.

Through our annual meal deliveries, our community policing deputies in partnership with Publix, the Rotary Club of Indian Rocks Beach, Suncoast Fire and Rescue, and Calvary Episcopal Church, personally deliver a week’s worth of food to families in need.

“Originally the holiday meals started with one man who visited the church in search of food. As our pantry grew and began to gather volunteers, our former chaplain partnered with Suncoast Fire and Rescue because we knew distribution was key,” said Father Jon, Chaplain of Calvary Episcopal Church. “It was then brought to our attention by other civic organizations, like the Rotary Club, that meal deliveries might be better suited for the sheriff’s office for safety and relational reasons.”

In the past five years, community policing deputies have fed more than 900 families throughout Pinellas County. Deputies participate in meal deliveries three times a year alongside our partners for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

For deputies like Brendan Kelly, participating makes a personal impact. “The most rewarding part about participating in these holiday meal deliveries is giving families the opportunity to bond over a meal, since not everyone has that opportunity. I was very fortunate that growing up my family was able to meet every year, so being able to extend that same experience to those in need is quite rewarding,” said Deputy Kelly.

While meal deliveries happen during the holidays, the items inside each box extend further than just your typical holiday grocery items. This year, families received a cooked turkey, pumpkin pie, green beans, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese, dessert cakes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, a loaf of broad, peanut butter, jelly, and tea.

“These meal deliveries and what’s in these boxes is not just about Thanksgiving. This meal is to serve those children in need for a whole week,” said Crystal Marlow, General Manager of Publix at Indian Rocks Shopping Center. “Sometimes these children are out of school for the week and don’t have access to the meals that the school would typically provide, but we don’t think about that because we are so used to having everything. That’s why the meal deliveries are important because we’re giving back to the community and we’re realizing that families and children are going to get something that they may not have in their homes already.”

To wrap up the holiday season this year, our community policing deputies will be distributing more meals in just a couple of weeks. But, as we look forward to coming together with our families one last time before the new year, remembering those who aren’t as fortunate and extending a helping hand to those in need, is the true meaning of community and the holiday season.

Job Feature: Registered Nurse (RN) & Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
Our medical division at the Jail is looking for dedicated healthcare professionals to assist in the care, treatment, and safety of inmates. We have openings for both registered nurses and licensed practical nurses and we are offering incentives for prior experience! To learn more and apply, click here.