Two Bikes, Two Smiles: How 'Ladies of Lev' and The Bike Library Delivered an Unforgettable Christmas

In this interview, Cameron Zamot, representing Greenway Gear Collective and The Bike Library, speaks with Annie Jernigan and Sarah Kordulewski-Chavez from Levitate. Levitate participates in a holiday program where they sponsored families in need, purchasing two bikes from Greenway Gear Collective. Annie reached out to TBL about the bikes and served as the primary point of contact. Sarah oversees Levitate's overall involvement in the program. The following interview highlights their efforts and the serendipitous partnership that made it all possible.

Cameron Zamot: Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got connected with The Bike Library, where you work, and your relationship with bikes. The floor is yours!

Annie Jernigan: Yeah! I'm Annie Jernigan. I work at Levitate. I've been here about four months now, so I'm still pretty new but really enjoying it. At Levitate, we provide a marketing app for small to midsize businesses and organizations that don't have a ton of in-house marketing or the capacity to do as much as they want.

We do a lot of giving back as a company—there's always something going on that we can volunteer for or contribute to. Since this is my first year here, I signed up for our holiday program, where employees are assigned a family with a Christmas wish list. I was assigned two girls, ages 12 and 16, and they both really wanted bikes. I go to the same gym as Lauren and I know she bikes a lot, so I figured I would reach out to see if we could put together a really special Christmas gift for these girls.

CZ: Is this program something Levitate does every year, or was it a new initiative?

Sarah Kordulewski-Chavez: This is actually our fourth year participating in Holiday Cheer, which is organized by the Wake County's Social Services Department. It’s a program where you can sponsor families, and they match you with a family in need. Each year, we sponsor about half a dozen families. We don’t have any preference and just say, "We’ll take whoever you have," including Spanish-speaking families.

It’s one of the most exciting events we do each year, and it’s supported by Ladies of Lev an employee resource group I started back in 2018. It’s a positive place for women to connect, promote each other, and feel empowered in the tech industry.

This year, we’re sponsoring five families, which adds up to a total of 28 people to shop for. Some of those wish lists included bikes, but, as Annie mentioned, bikes can get expensive, and we didn’t initially have the budget for new ones.

CZ: So, this is all volunteer-driven? How does the process work?

SKC: Yes, it’s entirely volunteer-based. At the start of the holiday season, we send out a survey to gauge interest. Those who sign up make a minimum cash donation, which we then pool together. We receive shopping lists from Social Services, but they’re often general, so we call the families to clarify—things like favorite colors, sports they play, or specific items they’ve been asking for.

From there, we divide the funds evenly across the families and go shopping. That’s the fun part—knowing we’re helping make the holidays special for these families.

CZ: Annie, it sounds like that’s where The Bike Library came in. How did your shopping experience look?

AJ: So, for our group, I was assigned two girls—a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old—who both wanted bikes. I immediately thought, "Raleigh is a great place to bike, and it’s such a great way to get outdoors." It reminded me of my own childhood when I would ask for a new bike every Christmas as I outgrew the old one.

But bikes are expensive, and I talked to Sarah about looking into gently used bikes on Facebook Marketplace. She was totally on board with that idea. Then I remembered Lauren, who I go to CrossFit with, is involved with The Bike Library. I hadn’t visited the shop before, but I knew about it, and my husband was already familiar with the work you all do. So, I messaged Lauren to ask for advice on where to look.

Lauren was so excited to help and said, “Let me see what Cameron and I can do.” I was expecting some leads on where to find used bikes, but instead, she offered to see if you all could help directly. It was really gracious and just a cool moment of generosity.

CZ: That’s actually a great segue into how it looked from my side. There are some more ~fun facts~ that people might enjoy.

For the 12-year-old, we already had a little bike with 24-inch wheels. That bike was actually the childhood bike of Nicholas Horvath, one of the guys who has supported the shop since the beginning – he used to run his own mobile bike shop called Rhythm Wheelworks. and brought me his old bike one day. He said, "You have to make sure this bike goes to a good place." So we cleaned it up, put on all new parts, and when I heard about this opportunity, I knew it was the perfect fit.

The other bike, for the 16-year-old, was built by a kid who’s been coming to our shop regularly – who is coincidentally also 16 years old. When he first came in, he had a bike that was in rough shape. Through Greenway Gear Collective’s bike education programs, we taught him how to refurbish and rebuild bikes. That bike ended up being his first project. He hand-built it with all new components, and it was really meaningful to see it go to someone else who needed it.

AJ: I met him when I picked up the bikes! He was like, "That was my bike. I rebuilt it." It was awesome. Honestly, I joked about switching out my bike for that one because it was so nice!

CZ: Yeah, that was a Schwinn Collegiate. It turned out beautifully. He’s since built two more bikes and rides those pretty hard, too.

AJ: It doesn’t look like it was ever in bad shape—it’s such a nice bike.

CZ: Trust me, he rode that thing hard! But I’m really stoked that both bikes ended up in great hands through such a cool program.

AJ: It really was a perfect match. Thank you so much for your help and for sharing those stories.

CZ: Thank you both for coming on to share your company’s story and this awesome initiative. Before we wrap up, are there any resources you’d like to point our readers toward?

SKC: Yes, absolutely! For anyone interested in sponsoring a family in the future, I can share a link to the Holiday Cheer program. It’s a wonderful way to give back, and I encourage others to get involved.

CZ: That would be great. Thanks again, Annie and Sarah, for sharing this experience with us!