SPRINGVALE — Take a bicycle that needs some work, put it back together and make sure it’s ready for the road.

Show a young person how to do that, and the takeaway is doubled ”“ or tripled.

That’s how it’s done at Nasson Community Bicycle Center, located in the basement of Nasson Community Center. Under a couple of scenarios, kids work on a bike or two and get to keep one. They learn the repair skill and a whole lot more, supporters say.

But the program, which operates from 2-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, needs a funding source, and there’s a new effort out there to secure one.

Grants and foundations and other avenues are being explored, but in the meantime, some folks have started a Go Fund Me site for the bike center, which can be found online at: www.gofundme.com/i4txio.

The goal is $17,500.

The bike center, part of Nasson Community Center, is currently operating with a few volunteers ”“ some, until recently, were part-time employees of the program, like Peter Chace, the program coordinator who now volunteers his time.

The program had once operated on a grant, but that expired more than two years ago, and money is tight for nonprofits. The community center board recently voted to discontinue funding the program, according to Nasson Community Center Executive Director Bob Jones. The board then voted to continue to fund supplies for the center when Chace said he’d continue on a volunteer basis, Jones said earlier this week.

Chace, along with volunteer Dylan Girard, and a couple of guys working on bikes were in the shop Wednesday shortly after 2 p.m. As the afternoon wore on, more young people showed up.

All of the bikes are donated ”“ and many of them are unclaimed bicycles donated by Sanford Police Department. Once they’re repaired, the bikes are registered in case they’re lost or stolen, and each youngster gets a helmet, donated through the Bicycle Coalition of Maine or by others, and some safety training.

Young people can get a bike through the program three ways, Chace said. Kids can make a $10 donation and overhaul a bike; they can earn $2 an hour toward the cost of a bike by doing community service, which can be earned at the shop; or they can build a bike for the community and then one to keep.

In so doing, Chace said, the young people learn social responsibility. They’re giving back to the community. And while they’re fixing the bikes, they learn patience, self-discipline and vocational skills, too, he said.

Robert Watson was working on a bike Wednesday; it was a a small one, and will go to a child.

“I like helping the kids,” he said.

Shane Saucier, who was also working on a bicycle, said, “It’s fun and it helps kids who don’t have bikes.”

Chace said the program has been good for kids. When there are surplus bikes ”“ and at times there are ”“ they’re refurbished and given to organizations that pass them on to kids who don’t have bicycles. As well, the bike center has partnered with the Sanford Junior High School Bicycle Club, supplying bikes for rides and projects ”“ like the one where students rode around the junior high neighborhood and made a list of streets they deemed safe for cycling, he said.

There are also partnerships with some local companies. Percy’s Tire cleans the greasy rags used in bicycle repair for free, and Crum Cycle, which is nearby, offers discounts on parts and consigns some bicycles for the bike center. And there’s another connection, too. Ken Mahoney, who started out at the bike center as participant and moved on to become a volunteer, now works at Crum Cycle.

Chace, who is semi-retired, still enjoys cycling, he said. He is a member of the Maine Coast Bicycle Club.

“I biked as a kid, and when my kids were young, we rode around the block, and I never stopped,” he said.

He knows Nasson Community Bicycle Center works for kids, in the tangibles and intangibles.

“I don’t want this program to fold,” he said.

As well as funding, Nasson Community Bicycle Center is looking for additional volunteers. For information, call Nasson Community Center at 324-5657 or email [email protected].

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].