By JC
Background
Iron City Trykes, also known as Birmingham AMBUCS, is a Birmingham nonprofit that gives customized therapeutic tricycles, called AmTrykes, to children and veterans with adaptive needs. Their mission is mobility and independence: helping riders roll alongside their friends and family, many for the first time. AMBUCS is a national organization, but its very first chapter started right here in Birmingham in 1922. Each AmTryke costs roughly $600 to $1,500, and the organization raises funds and hosts corporate volunteer build days to get more of them into the hands of the people who need them.
Through a Christian Lens
Jesus never walked past the ones the world left on the side of the road. He stopped. He touched. He told the lame man to get up and walk. Iron City Trykes carries that same spirit into everyday Birmingham. A child who has watched other kids ride down the street now rides with them. A veteran who gave his strength for this country gets some of it back.
That first ride is a picture of the Kingdom. It’s what freedom looks like when somebody decides another person’s limits aren’t the end of the story.
Most of us will never build a tryke. But we can give, show up, and pray. And we can learn to see people the way Christ sees them, not by what they can’t do, but by who they were made to be.
Get a Tryke or Lend a Hand
- Riders under 21: Apply online at ironcitytrykes.org
- Adult riders: Email ironcitytrykes@gmail.com for an application
- Give or volunteer: ironcitytrykes.org
- Visit: 242 West Valley Avenue, Suite 105, Birmingham, AL 35209
- Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; weekends by appointment
“Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.”
Isaiah 35:6 (KJV)
JC is a Birmingham-area musician, writer, and founder of We Rock Network.
