FAYETTEVILLE N.C.- With Christmas just over two months away, things are really gearing up for the folks who conduct the annual Bicycle Man Giveaway.

On Saturday October 12, a special bike drive was held to take donations for that event. Several dozen people turned out for the event just off Raeford Road.

The giveaway has been held every year since 1990. In almost three decades, nearly 44,000 bikes have been donated to children at Christmas. For many, that gift of a bike is the only Christmas present that those children will recieve.

The founder of the Bicycle Man Community Outreach and original Bicycle Man, Moses Mathis, passed away in 2013. His wife, Ann Mathis, has contined the yearly giveaway after making a vow to her husband that she would do so.

"We've been in the shop since February. And we've collected bikes the whole year. I just thank everybody for donating bikes. With the ones we got today...I think we may be at 950...930...something like that, " she said.

Her goal is to collect a thousand bikes each year. Most of the time, Mrs. Mathis has collected more than that.

The annual Bicycle Man Giveaway is scheduled for Saturday, December 21.