Kennan Garvey, a friend and supporter of Phoenix Bikes, passed away unexpectedly on January 19, 2008, following a heart attack. The staff and volunteers at Phoenix Bikes express their deepest condolences to Kennan’s widow Libby and daughters Shannon and Ruth and their families.
In lieu of flowers, the Garvey family is asking Kennan’s many friends and colleagues for donations to Phoenix Bikes. The purpose of the Kennan Garvey Memorial Fund is to enable Phoenix Bikes to secure a more permanent site to better serve South Arlington’s young people.
Since March 2007, the Phoenix Bike Shop has been operating in Barcroft Park, Arlington, VA, in a small building generously provided by the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources. This workshop serves young people from surrounding neighborhoods, as well as cyclists needing affordable bikes and repair services. However, the current space can only fit about 8-10 youth at a time. With help, a new space will more than double that capacity, allowing Phoenix to expand the number of local youth we can impact and handle more bikes to grow our earned revenue base.
Contributions to the fund will honor Kennan’s name and further a project that reflected his and his family’s interests in youth development, cycling, and the environment.
In a statement establishing the fund, Kennan’s widow Libby stated:
[Phoenix Bikes] is a group which teaches kids how to repair bikes and was one of the organizations Kennan was planning to devote time to in his upcoming retirement. As many of you know, Kennan was an avid cyclist and always did most of the maintenance on his bikes himself. He loved working with kids and passing on his knowledge in so many areas. He would have taken great satisfaction in teaching kids to be self-reliant operators of his favorite environmentally-friendly vehicle!
We are grateful to the Garvey Family for establishing this fund, which will meet a critical and immediate need.
Even if you did not know Kennan, we ask that you make a generous contribution in his honor and to support Phoenix Bikes in our efforts to serve more young people.
Checks may be made payable to Phoenix Bikes with notation in the memo line to “Kennan Garvey Memorial Fund." Donations can also be made through our online button - please add "Kennan Garvey Memorial Fund" in the notes, or email us after donating to ensure that the donation is correctly directed.
Checks should be mailed to:
Phoenix Bikes
4200 S. 4 Mile Run Drive
Arlington VA 22204.
For further information on Kennan and his life, visit http://www.libbygarvey.org/kennan/
