Posted at: 10/08/2012 9:04 PM
Updated at: 10/08/2012 10:19 PM
By: Katie Eldred

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Byron Boy Collecting Bikes to Send to Haiti

(ABC 6 News) -- His love for riding his bike has taken him on rides of longer than a hundred miles. Now one Byron 5th grader is trying to make sure other kids can do the same. He hopes to send a thousand bikes to Haiti.

Byron 5th grader Isaiah Crossfield rides his bike. "Mostly, every day," said Crossfield.

But after seeing the destruction in Haiti Isaiah found a reason to ride.

"All the buildings it was just a disaster and I just really wanted to help them," said Crossfield.

He started raising money to send to Haiti through bike rides, but he wanted to do more.

"They need transportation and the kids don't have that much to do, they don't get to ride bike," said Crossfield.

Pastor Sharon Nelson of Byron United Methodist Church has been helping Isaiah with his bike drive.

"The bike project for Isaiah is because he does love to bike," said Nelson.

Now a church in Blooming Prairie has offered to donate several hundred bikes as well.

"It just has kind of spread along with that and people see that it's something everybody can do," said Nelson.

With the help from the church in Blooming Prairie, they've collected more than 300 bikes to be sent over to Haiti.

"It makes a difference you know for someone to be able to have a job a little further away or for children to be able to ride a bike to school," said Nelson.

The goal is to send a thousand bikes over to Haiti by January, so far it looks like they may exceed that.

"Isaiah is just a special young man and he is infectious, it just spreads," said Nelson.

Isaiah just hopes the bikes make the children in Haiti as happy as riding his bike makes him.

"If your nice enough to do it, it just makes people happy," said Crossfield.

The next bike pick up will be in Rochester at bicycle sports this Saturday from nine to two. There are also bicycle pick-ups scheduled in Blooming Prairie and Winona.