Cycles of Change staff member Sean Delizo is photographed outside of the Bikery on 23rd Avenue in the San Antonio district of Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. On Jan. 7, a 52-bike fleet and over 350 helmets were stolen from a Cycles of Change rented U-Haul truck parked in front of the Bikery. Cycles of Change builds a network of neighborhood-based bicycle education and distribution programs in Alameda County, and their goal is to receive 100 donated bikes within the next 100 days to make up for the loss. (Jane Tyska/ Bay Area News Group) ( JANE TYSKA )

Cycles of Change staff members Sean Delizo, left, and Nora Dye are photographed at the Bikery on 23rd Avenue in the San Antonio district of Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. On Jan. 7, a 52-bike fleet and over 350 helmets were stolen from a Cycles of Change rented U-Haul truck parked in front of the Bikery. Cycles of Change builds a network of neighborhood-based bicycle education and distribution programs in Alameda County, and their goal is to receive 100 donated bikes within the next 100 days to make up for the loss. (Jane Tyska/ Bay Area News Group) ( JANE TYSKA )

OAKLAND -- An Oakland nonprofit is hustling to meet its commitment to serve hundreds of East Bay children after a thief drove away with a rented truck loaded with dozens of bikes and helmets outside its headquarters.

In an inspired sprint toward its busy spring season, Cycles of Changes said it wants to collect 100 bikes in 100 days to make up for the theft outside its shop on 23rd Avenue near International Boulevard.

The nonprofit learned of the theft Thursday morning "when one of our staff walked outside the shop" and found the truck missing from its parking spot, Sean Delizo, collective executive director at Cycles of Change, said Tuesday.

Staffers were heading to Oakland's Westlake Middle School for its ongoing Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools bike-education program, which teaches 8,000 students in 14 middle schools and four high schools throughout the county, when they noticed the truck was missing.

Instead, they called police and filed a report. Delizo said Oakland police told him the organization's rented truck, which held 52 bikes and over 350 helmets, was found empty Friday, except for a sack holding a few helmets, in a residential Richmond neighborhood. Delizo estimated the bikes' value around $12,000.

For a group used to creating and carrying out a variety of campaigns -- from a one-off dumpling fundraiser to custom-knit cycling caps -- to bring in supplies, donations and gear, it's the latest daunting challenge.


"It's definitely going to be our tightest turnaround timewise," Delizo said. "Currently, we're in schools and scheduled to provide services. We want to serve students at the same capacity. Without a fleet of bikes, that wouldn't be possible. April starts out as our busiest time of year, where we'll be teaching at two schools at the same time."

At Westlake Middle School, physical education teacher Kelley Schwartz called the nonprofit's programs, which start with helmet and bike fitting and include video, drills, safety instruction and group rides, a powerful addition to her curriculum.

Kashif Asaad works at the Bikery on 23rd Avenue in the San Antonio district of Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. On Jan. 7, a 52-bike fleet and over 350 helmets were stolen from a Cycles of Change rented U-Haul truck parked in front of the Bikery. Cycles of Change builds a network of neighborhood-based bicycle education and distribution programs in Alameda County, and their goal is to receive 100 donated bikes within the next 100 days to make up for the loss. (Jane Tyska/ Bay Area News Group) ( JANE TYSKA )

"It was going to be the first day for students and colleagues," said Schwartz, an Oakland resident and four-year Westlake teacher. "We had to change it a little bit to give them time to get through their heartbreaking situation."

Schwartz, who teaches up to five sessions of 6th- through 8th-graders a day, said the training is important for her students' independence and safety.

"With other programs, they're hard to find, it's not as accessible. You have to do work to find them and bring them to you," Schwartz said. "With Cycles of Change, they go out of their way to make sure they get to the children."

The program began as an after-school class in an East Oakland public school basement and later grew to its current registration as a nonprofit. Its classes teach young people how to repair and, in some cases, build their own bicycles. Other programs integrate roadway behavior training, as well as a few new tricks.

"We're adapting our in-school education to cover El Niño conditions and how to travel safely, as some of our recent classes have gotten rained out," Delizo said. "We teach a lot of bike law, how to ride in the street, different age jurisdictions for riding on the sidewalk."

As it turns out, those skills can lead youth along deeper, richer paths.

"We emphasize sound decision-making. For a lot of people, it's an intro to driving law, a good way for them to figure out how to read traffic as well," said Delizo, who has worked with the organization for three years. "One thing that's unique about us is we're a community-based organization that functions in our community. A lot of folks who came out also organize in this community, a lot of others work in the same field and live in the same neighborhood."

The organization is seeking cash donations to cover the cost for refurbished bicycles, safety classes, healthy snacks and helmets, and it is also accepting bicycles in good or repairable working condition or good used parts. All donations are tax-deductible, Delizo said.

Full donation guidelines are available at http://www.cyclesofchange.org//support.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180 or follow him at Twitter.com/allaboutgeorge.