The Lighthouse bike ministry is nestled in the bottom floor of our building. Managed and operated by Dave Eschner, we refurbish and rehome bicycles for guests that need their own transportation.

Dave arrived at the Lighthouse in 2016 as a volunteer and successor for Shane Reside (bike ministry) who started the Random Acts of Kindness bike ministry in 2014. In his first year, Dave helped refurbish and rehome 180 bicycles at a total cost of $62.00! Today, Dave has established himself in the community as “Dave’s Squeaky Wheel” bike ministry, and weekly he gives bikes to adults and children to help with transportation, and share the blessing and joy of owning a bike. According to Dave, nearly 900 bicycles have gone through our facility.

“It’s all been a blessing,” Dave told us in an interview. “I just go from one bike to the next.”

Outside of his job, Dave donates one day of his time at the Lighthouse each week. He comes to work through his stockpile of bikes so that he can keep clean and functional bikes on hand in the event a Lighthouse guest needs one.

Since the demand is so much higher in warmer months, Dave spends more time refurbishing in the winter and more time helping guests find their next bike in the summer.

“In the winter what I do is I stockpile bikes, and then I go through them in the spring. Come April, kids need bikes and I send them,” Dave said.

Prior to moving to Virginia, Dave lived near the Jersey shore – a place where riding bikes to get around is a normal part of life. As a self-taught mechanic beginning at age seven, he eventually opened up his own successful bike shop out of his garage.

Later in life, Central Virginia appealed to Dave as a quieter place to spend some time. He purchased a mobile home in Appomattox with the intention of having it as a weekend getaway. “I was looking for a place to just have where I could go and get away from the city and the bustle and everything and just wake up to crickets, which I did,” Dave said.

Shortly after, he met his wife. After their first visit from New Jersey, they considered getting a permanent home in the area. “We saw up to two houses and bought the second one,” Dave laughed.

Amid the swift transition, the company that Dave was set to work for went on a hiring freeze, cancelling his prospective employment. But God always works things out according to his plan. During his time of looking for employment, he heard about the Lighthouse, and he brought us his servant heart and 40 years of bicycle mechanical experience.

“Dave’s Squeaky Wheel” is the continuation of his Jersey shore garage bike shop, now a nonprofit Lighthouse program for the benefit of the local community.

If you need a bike or would like to donate one to us, please reach out to us at (434) 847-5050. Dave would love to meet with you.