Ottawa police donate abandoned bikes to Princeton nonprofit

The Ottawa Police Department donated bicycles that are abandoned or turned in to the police to the nonprofit the Bike Place in Princeton.

The Bike Place, 701 N. Main St., Princeton, repairs, restores and recycles bicycles that are donated and regifted to churches and other charitable organizations to find them new homes to those most in need. Many of the bicycles given to the Princeton shop were in disrepair. The Bike Place helps those in need in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam counties. The organization has rescued, restored, recycled, repaired, sold and donated more than 3,500 bikes.

“Thank you to the Ottawa Police Department who donated a truckload of bikes to our cause,” the Bike Place posted to its Facebook page. “We’ll be working hard over the coming weeks to clean and fix these guys up. For every bike we sell, we try to give away two.”