Bernadette Bogertey-Harvey

Three decades ago, Moses “Bicycle Man” Mathis started what became an annual Christmas tradition: a bike giveaway to children in his Fayetteville neighborhood in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Mathis repaired the bikes himself.

After Mathis passed away in 2013, his wife Ann continued the program, until Bernadette Bogertey-Harvey, now 71, took over in 2023, having worked with the Mathis’ for over 30 years.

On December 13 of this year, thanks to community donations, Bogertey-Harvey was able to give away 2,500 new or refurbished bicycles, tricycles, and scooters to disadvantaged children ages 1-15 in Cumberland and surrounding counties—well over the 1,000 given away last year and the 300 she gave away in 2023.

Describing the honor of being able to carry on the Mathis legacy, she emphasizes that the program is all about the children, saying,

“Even though it takes the whole year to prepare for one day, I come in here and I see what we’re doing, and I remember the faces on the children when they pick out their bikes.”

Bogertey-Harvey is affectionately known as the “Bike Madea.” In popular culture, many people associate “Madea” with the tough Mabel “Madea” Simmons character popularized by actor-filmmaker Tyler Perry, but others have explained that “Madea” has more reverent and sacred overtones as an honorific describing strong, wise, and beloved African-American matriarchs who are “cheerleaders for good.”