Youth Programs, Learning and Earning

Courtesy Phoenix Bikes

So far this year Bikes for the World has donated over 9,500 bikes to other organizations worldwide.  While a majority of our bikes are donated overseas, many also stay right here in America. In 2014, BfW has donated bikes to eight organizations overseas. We have also donated just under 1,000 bikes to eight domestic projects
as well.

It is often more difficult to find local groups who support our mission, can accept bike donations in the larger quantities that we typically donate, AND have the workforce to fix up the bikes that are often in need of major repairs.  Nearly 100% of our donations locally are working to benefit young people, either by getting them a bike or teaching them a valuable skill.

Bikes donated to BfW FROM Phoenix Bikes

One of our favorite groups we work with is right here in Arlington, Phoenix Bikes. Phoenix Bikes is a youth program that teaches kids how to fix up bikes, but it doesn't stop there. Check out this recent article from the Washington Post to see how great this program is for yourself.

What you may not know about Phoenix Bikes, and many other groups like them, is that they also turn around and donate right back to groups like Bikes for the World. Just last month Phoenix delivered a couple truckloads of bikes to BfW that have already been shipped overseas. In turn, we donated some road bikes back to them to help support the youth program.

Courtesy BWorks: More DICK'S bikes

Back in May, BfW partnered for a third year with DICK'S Sporting Goods to offer a trade-in trade-up promotion to their customers. During this one week event, customers brought in an old bike to receive money off a new bike. DICK'S then donated all of those bikes, over 5,500!, to BfW.

Two trailers of bikes coming from DICK'S warehouses were diverted to another non-profit in St. Louis, St. Louis Bicycle Works (BWorks). This is another local youth program which can benefit from some of our donated bikes that are less suitable for use on rural village roads overseas.

Courtesy St. Louis Bicycle Works

St. Louis works with Bikes for the World to help ship bikes overseas to our same partners. Many of these youth programs, like BWorks, are based in the city and make use of more road bikes than mountain frames for their programs. They either donate the unwanted bikes to us, or ship them directly from their warehouses.

This shipment (seen left) was loaded in June and is on its way to BfW partner CESTA in El Salvador. Back in Arlington, we just finished loading a container this past weekend, that will also soon be on its way to CESTA, to support their youth program in El Salvador.