Earl Wright THE WRIGHT STUFF
PHOTOGRAPHS BY HANNAH SHARPE
BY HANNAH SHARPE
M
ost people remember getting their first bike almost as a treasured childhood memory. The clicking of a chain pulling through gears, the distorted reflections of shiny handlebars, the smell of new tires, the soft breeze of a downhill coast — a bicycle is often a kid’s first taste of independence. Earl Wright will tell you that when he was young, it took him and his brother four trips to the junkyard located two miles away from their home in Carthage to collect parts for his first bicycle. For the past six years, though, Wright has been refurbishing old bicycles so that hundreds of less-privileged children can have the same taste of independence that he yearned for. “Anything with wheels — I can do something with it,” Wright says with infectious confidence. And he’s built and rebuilt enough bikes to back up the claim. Better known as “Project Santa”, Wright began giving toys to local children 15 years ago after he started collecting unwanted toys from clients whose homes he cleaned for a living. “I just thought about when I was coming up,” he reflects. “It made me feel so good to get that one great present, something you loved to play with.” After “Project Santa” took off, Wright soon tailored his generosity to giving bicycles away in the parking lot of Bo’s Supermarket in Southern Pines. “I always saw that glow in their eyes about the bicycles,” he says. Now the yearly project generates an overwhelming response in both donations and demand for bikes. Wright begins collecting bikes around September, accumuPineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills
lating piles of wheels, extra bicycle chains, inner tubing and old bike frames. By December, he’s in full swing with his signature Santa hat on to let everyone know he’s getting ready for the big day. When he’s not riding around looking for spare parts, picking up extra cans of WD-40 or stockpiling the finished bikes in storage, Wright toils away in his front yard, meticulously making sure each bike is as good as new while Christmas music blares from the radio. “I’ve got my time. I’ve got my health. That’s all I got,” he says. “As long as I know the kids count, I’ll be happy.” Hours before the annual distribution time arrives, children line up with their parents early on Christmas morning hoping for the chance to go pick out the bike of their dreams. The giveaway begins when Project Santa arrives, and within minutes, all the bikes have been pedaled away by their new owners. Wright loves seeing his hard work come to life before his eyes as children excitedly choose the bikes made especially for them. “I’m Santa Claus on Christmas Day for those few minutes,” Wright says with a big grin. Earl Wright is indeed every notion of good ole St. Nick with a twinkle in his eye and a workshop full of reborn bikes. He’s also our kind of Everyday Hero. Every Christmas, Project Santa leaves the parking lot of Bo’s Grocery with a warm heart, knowing a few more kids have bikes to call their own. He also knows he has lots more to give. “As long as God lets me stay here, I’m going to make it better and better,” he says. “You don’t stop giving from your heart.”
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January 2010
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