Nine Gahanna Middle School West students are learning the spirit of giving by repairing bicycles for their peers.

"They know what it's like to feel a need and not have it filled," said Wendy Roberts, the school's intervention specialist.

The project, called "Bikes for Tikes," was developed with help from Roberts, assistant middle school principal Sherri Zynda and Gahanna patrol officer Kim Hare.

"I wanted to start a program that would allow me to be in the schools more often and provide positive interaction with the kids," Hare said. She said she worked with Zynda on ideas. Zynda said she brought in Roberts, who has had success with students working on projects that stress empathy and compassion.

After outlining the project, Roberts said the kids went to work, writing letters to Trek, Meijer and Fast Signs, asking for help in obtaining bicycles and parts for repair. They have received donations from those businesses and the middle school teachers and also used some bicycles that had been left in the city police department's impound lot.

For the last three weeks, the students have worked with Roberts and Hare to take bicycles apart and repair them, sanding paint off in preparation for new paint, and replacing decals, tires, baskets and horns.

"They realize how much work goes into the whole process and how expensive things are to replace," Roberts said.

The students then wrote letters to principals in the school district, asking them to identify two children from each school who need a bicycle. Roberts said the principals have given them grade levels and the sex of each child, allowing the students to match the right-size bike to the right student.

Roberts said they have identified 11 children who need bicycles, and she thinks they can fill that order.

Zynda said the project falls in line with the district's graduation profile, which will ensure each student who graduates from Gahanna Jefferson Schools is:

• A responsible community member.
• A comprehensive problem solver.
• A proficient technology user.
• A collaborative team member.
•  An excellent communicator.

She said the students are learning how to be responsible community members by fixing bicycles for other students in the community. They must work together in teams to repair the bicycles and must have problem-solving skills to repair the bikes. They also learned to communicate better through their letter-writing campaigns.

Zynda said "Bikes for Tikes" has helped the school partner with the police department to build a relationship between officers and students and target the district's graduation profile at the same time.

She said when this project is completed this month, the school may consider another project in 2010.

"They really enjoy it," Roberts said. "Hands-on activities are really good for them."

But it's not just the physical work that they are learning. "They feel compassion for other kids, kids in their neighborhoods," she said.

The program is being completed by nine students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades under Roberts' supervision.