BIDDEFORD — When he was 9 years old, Matthew Perkins discovered the Community Bicycle Center. The program, which specializes in using bicycles to help youth achieve personal growth, had a dramatic affect on the now 18-year-old who left for college a few weeks ago.

Perkins, is one of the many — and probably most reported on — success stories of the 16-year-old organization, located on Granite Street.

He’s been featured in the pages of the Journal Tribune several times over the years — for completing numerous miles of bike riding, participating in several of the programs operated by the CBC, and being recognized for his volunteerism at the bike center when the United Way of York County presented him at the age of 12 with the Youth  Spirit of Service Award in 2012.

“I began my time at the CBC nine years ago this October 1st,” wrote Perkins recently in an email. “I started in the Biddeford Intermediate School ‘Bike Club’ program with former CBC staff Dillon and BMS (Biddeford Middle School) teacher Ethan Davis. Some weeks later, I joined the CBC and never turned back. I have been a part of every program offered including summer bike rides, camping trips, bike-part-art, earn-a-bike, bike polo, Kids Bike Factory, bike monkeys, the charity cycling team, and everything in between.”

He said he’s spent 4,500 hours at the bike center, and not only has he received instruction there, but also he has also provided instruction by co-teaching three bike repair classes, leading bike rides and more.

“As years progressed,” Perkins wrote in an essay while still working at the CBC, “my role changed from youth participant, to volunteer, to staff. To this day, I strive to give kids the experience I was so lucky to have. I do this by being at the shop every day, giving the kids a smile and encouragement that they may not receive anywhere else.”

Perkins credits the bike center with having a significant role in his personal development.

“I am walking proof that the (CBC) tag line actually means something,” he said. “The CBC truly ‘provides opportunities for youth to grow.’”

In addition, he credits his involvement with the bike center with leading him to his career choice.

“One of my favorite CBC experiences occurred very recently: when I learned what I wanted to do with my life” Perkins said. “The CBC taught me that I want to be a teacher. Every favorite moment I have has something to do with me teaching somebody something.”

At the end of his tenure at the CBC, Perkins was mentioned fondly in the organization’s newsletter: “Matt epitomizes the phrase ‘you get what you give,’ in that he has given so much of himself to this small community and has grown exponentially because of it. He role models reliability, humor, commitment, and an unwavering kindness to the spectrum of beautiful personalities that participate in the CBC’s programs. As a result, he has become a young, compassionate leader, full of promise.”

Like Perkins, the CBC has undergone transformation.

The bike center was started at a Gooch Street warehouse in 2001, under the name Earn-a-Bike, by former Executive Director (and current director emeritus) Andy Grief — who moved on himself last year. After Gooch Street, the organization became part of the YMCA, which at the time had a Main Street center. Another home was at a space donated by the city on Hill Street at St. Louis Field. Finally, in 2014, after a massive feat of fundraising, the center purchased and retrofitted its current home on Granite Street.

Though Perkins has departed, and can never be truly replace, there is a new staff member at the CBC.

Cliff Oliver, joined Executive Director Bronwyn Barnett and Volunteer and Program Director Andrew Burnell, as a third staff member at the organization. He started with the bike center in July 2017 as a volunteer and was then brought on as a summer programming assistant. Oliver’s experience includes developing outreach-based programs and services for diverse communities around the globe, according to the CBC website. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and will use his background in program management and entrepreneurial savvy to lead the Kid’s Bike Factory in the future.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be reached at 282-1535, ext. 324, or dmendros@journaltribune.com.