Sheriff's Office Donates 55 Bikes to Alex's Bar-B-Q

Last month things weren't looking so good for the Alex Bar-B-Q's annual bike donation.

Each year Alex Cook, owner of Alex's Bar-B-Q, has collected money to purchase bikes for kids in need giving over 13,000 bikes away since 1999. But in November, a thief threw a kink in that plan when they stole between $500-$1,000 from a donation jar in the restaurant, located at 5362 W. Village Drive.

Hillsborough County's Sheriff's Office stepped up this week to make sure the bike donation goes off without a hitch. The sheriff's office announced Tuesday it would be donating 55 bicycles to the "Alex's Christmas for Kids" organization.

"The reason why we felt compelled to help him out is he's been doing this so many years and it reaches so many children in need," said Cristal Bermudez Nunez, sheriff's office spokeswoman. "And especially the way the economy is and the way these families are struggling, it's so nice that we still see people out there taking out of their time and money to give back to the community."

On Nov. 18, someone broke into Alex's Bar-B-Q by tossing a large rock through the business's glass front door and

"We saw that and wanted to support his mission and cause with what happened last month we wouldn't want to stop him from reaching the community," Nunez said.

The sheriff's office bikes came from Walmart. The bikes were either returned by customers or damaged during shipment. The company donated them to Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Charities Inc., Nunez said. An organization called God's Pedal Power, a ministry of University Baptist Church, repaired the bikes free of charge.

"They came in, looked at them and replaced, restored and ordered any parts to make them like new -- free of charge," Nunez said.

When the sheriff's office charitable arm found out about Cook's loss they decided he was the one who should receive the bikes.

“He's a local business man trying to pay it forward," Nunez said.

Deputies will present the bikes to Cook at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13.

Anyone interested in donating to HCSO Charities, Inc. to help with future
projects can visit http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/Charities.aspx.