Photo by Deb Gau Marshall resident Johnny Roberts, left, asks a question about the new bike that Perry McNeil helped buy for him this week.

MARSHALL — Marshall resident Johnny Roberts said he goes everywhere by bicycle. That was part of the reason why it was a shock when Roberts found his only form of transportation had been stolen from his yard one night last week.

“I came back outside, and it was gone,” Roberts said. “I was upset about it.”

But area community members stepped up to help Roberts, Perry McNeil said. Last week, an impromptu fundraiser McNeil started collected enough money to buy Roberts a new bike. McNeil brought Roberts downtown on Wednesday afternoon to pick it up.

“I want to thank everybody for helping me out,” Roberts said.

Roberts said his old bike was the only way he got around.

“I go around town,” he said.

Roberts said the bike was taken from his yard last week after he had come home from watching a Marshall A’s baseball game. Roberts said he came back out of the house later that night, and the bike was gone.

“It was sad,” he said.

The next day, McNeil helped spread the word about the bike theft on social media. He said he had hoped to try and raise a little money to help Roberts replace his bike. But in just a few hours, area community members had donated around $1,200.

McNeil said about 30 people chipped in to help.

“It was a lot of people, from a lot of different walks of life,” McNeil said. “The donations were anywhere from $10, all the way to $100.” It was great to see how people had responded to the situation, he said.

The total money raised was more than McNeil needed to cover the cost of a new bike for Roberts. He purchased a bike at the Bike Shop earlier this week. McNeil said some of the money left over would be put on an account to help Roberts with any future bike repairs, while some would go toward other needed items for Roberts.

Roberts said the fundraiser came as a surprise to him.

“I didn’t know nothing about it,” he said.

Getting his transportation back with the new bike was something he was thankful for.

“I appreciate it,” Roberts said.