PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A Pasco County, high school student collects unused bicycles and gives them to people in need.
Ananth Kutuva, a Land 'O Lakes High School student, found a passion for mountain biking after watching videos on YouTube.
In 2019, he started volunteering at WellBuilt Bikes, located at the University Mall in Tampa.
"We collect all the bikes and put them in our backyard lani, so the maximum we can collect at once in 30 bikes," said Kutuva.
He started "Recycle Your Bike Tampa Bay" and collects donations of unused bicycles. Employees from WellBuilt Bikes pick up the bicycles and refurbish them. They sell the bikes at an affordable price.
If people cannot afford the bikes, the Earn-A-Bike Program offers a bicycle in exchange for volunteer hours.
"There's a lot of folks in the community that cannot afford to meet their own transportation needs, so we do affordable bikes, but some can't afford these bikes, so they can get these bikes through community service hours, so they basically buy the bike with time. They put in community service hours," said Jon Dengler with WellBuilt Bikes.
Jon Dengler said he is grateful to Kutuva and his passion for helping people.
"He has been smart, great with customers, compassionate, and driven all the way. He's been so aggressive about marketing these and getting out that these bikes are needed, going out, collecting them," said Dengler.
Kutuva visited India this summer with his family. He collected monetary donations. He bought bicycles, school supplies, and uniforms for students in India. He handed out the donations at several schools.
He recalls a bicycle he gave one of the students.
"His life just changed because he can attend school. He can go play with his friends, go to the temple, go shopping, go anywhere, and they are all middle schoolers, so they were ecstatic to see me," said Kutuva.
Kutuva said a bicycle in India is life-changing.
"Some of the students have been coming to school without shoes, or some of them do not have access to transportation like a bus," he added.
If you want to donate a bicycle, please email Kutuva at ananthkutuva@gmail.com.
For more information, visit: bikeshoptampa.com
