Local Volunteer Keeps the Wheels Rollin' in Tinley

Walk into Andy Ashmus' basement and you'll find chains, aluminum fenders, handlebars and an assortment of various nuts and bolts. But he's not a collector. He's a bicycle fixer.

That's one of the many reasons why the resident was a co-recipient of the 2011 Volunteer Award. Together We Cope assists families in temporary crisis from Bremen, Orland, Palos and Worth townships.

"I was shocked," he said, of being honored. "The award wasn't what I was trying for. It's a fun place to volunteer."

Ashmus began volunteering back in the late 1970s as an assistant Boy Scout leader for Tinley's Troop 378 when his sons were scouts, he said.

"Because of all the community work and badges earned, both my sons earned Eagle Scout," he said, proudly. "My daughter, Susan, was an honorary boy scout because she was always with us."

After seven years helping with the troops, he decided to buy some old bikes at a Tinley Park DARE garage sale. Ever since, he's been hooked.

"The DARE officer asked what I was doing with the old bikes, so I said I repaired them and gave them away to my kids, neighbors … whoever needed one," he said. "They asked me to help them repair bikes and sell them at the next garage sale to raise funds for Tinley Park DARE. "

It was not until Andy's wife, Diane, began volunteering for Together We Cope, that Ashmus saw a different need for his talent. He now spends every Monday picking up bikes from a store in Orland Hills and fixing them up — a hobby he's maintained since his teenage years.

He donates the upgraded rigs to Together We Cope, where clients have told him they've been a blessing. The agency has given some of the bikes to the homeless and others have been sold at the nonprofit's resale shop to raise money for those facing tough times. It's Ashmus' expertise that has kept the wheels turning in this area.

When Andy is not repairing two-wheelers, he's donating his time to Tinley Park Senior Center, where he sets up tables and serves meals. He also takes composted food to a farmer who raises chickens and an animal rescue in Tinley.

Oh and, he's a motor scooter guru.

"I'm a … groupie," adding that he has a 1953 Eagle and two others that he rides. "I belong to a national motor scooter group, where my wife and I travel around the country. We even got to ride the scooters at the Indy 500."

Together We Cope coordinators described Ashmus as a generous, eager volunteer who always wears a smile.

"Since his retirement as a chemical operator, Andy does daily bread pick-ups and other tasks for the food pantry," they said, in a description of his award. "His best quality is that no matter what is asked for him, he gets it done and all with a smile. Because of his love of animals—or maybe just because he likes to help—Andy takes produce the pantry can't use to a horse rescue. When he is not volunteering, you may find Andy in his kitchen whipping up French cuisine; something he learned from his grandmother."

His comment to all of the fanfare?

"Just help Together We Cope," he said. "They really need food donations and good ones, some of the donations we get, we can't even use."