By Spencer Sterritt

Nanaimo community rallies to replace young boy’s stolen bike

Apr 6, 2017 | 4:40 PM

NANAIMO — It’s always hoped the community stands behind you and now one Nanaimo family knows for sure.

A brand new Devinci Jackson bike was donated to nine-year-old Ewan Snikker after his was stolen out from under him in what RCMP called a “brazen” theft.

Snikker, his older brother Wyatt and their mother Quinn Verbrugge were given a new, identical bike at Coal City Cyles today, April 6, after the community rallied behind them and raised several hundred dollars.

“Just knowing that there’s people out there that want to help, for us it’s a great lesson,” Verbrugge said. “(Ewan and Wyatt) didn’t know what to do, but now they know if they just ask for help, people are out there to help.”

The money donated from community members was supposed to go towards the new bike, but Devinci stepped in and offered Ewan a replacement. The cash is now being donated to the Stevie Smith Legacy Fund.

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Steve Smith was a local downhill mountain bike racer who passed away nearly a year ago at the age of 26. He’d been sponsored by Devinci.

Robin Dutton of Coal City Cycles said they were overwhelmed by the support which poured in to help.

“There was people who offered to just pay for it outright, there was other people who said ‘here’s my credit card number, just top off whatever you didn’t raise.’”

Being able to help bring a happy ending to an unfortunate situation was heartwarming, Dutton said.

“It makes me have some hope for humanity, where you see all the doom and gloom that you see a lot of time. Stuff like this is really inspiring it brings a smile to my face.”

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit