What a Trek!

This blue Trek has had a long and happy life. This bike belonged to Wendy and she learned how to jump logs, scream through streams, and even how to fall not-so-gracefully on many a mountain trail. It's been to the hills of West Virginia, the beaches of Cape Cod, even across the ferry and into the city streets of Boston.

After upgrading her ride with a better mountain bike we converted this one for a more urban experience and kept it going for our jaunts into DC. After time we bought a hybrid and this trusty Trek hung unused in the shed for many years. After learning of a shipment heading to students in the Philippines Wendy finally found the courage to say goodbye to a very good friend of many years, "It just made sense; this bike was still in great shape, it's why I held on to it. But I wasn't using it anymore and I saw the benefit it could bring someone overseas."

And so the Trek journeys on. Within months, Wendy's old bike found a new home in a very different environment.

This Trek now belongs to Danilo, a junior at Concepcion Integrated School in San Simon, Pampanga Philippines. Rather than taking up space in our shed it is now improving Danilo's life allowing him to stay in school, get an education, and follow his dreams of becoming a police officer.

Danilo is the son of a vegetable farmer and housewife. He wants to become a policeman so that he can aid and protect his community. He realizes the value of an education but struggles to help support his family while staying in school due to the long commute.

Wendy's old bike will enable him to travel to school more efficiently, saving him time and energy. Many kids his age are forced to drop out of school when the family is faced with the choice of sending a teen to school or putting him to work in the fields. With this bike, Danilo will be able to save time on his commute to school AND still help his father out in the fields.

Before becoming a bike beneficiary, Danilo used to walk to school with his younger brother. The trip took Danilo 90 minutes on foot but now he can roll to school in a quarter of the time.

Every morning before school, Danilo heads to the cabbage fields his father tends and helps water the crops. Given the extreme heat in the Philippines, Danilo has to return to the fields immediately after school to water the crops again. The money he earns is shared with his family to help with expenses.

Now, with his bike, Danilo can make the trips to school and the fields much faster, giving him more time to devote to school, work, and after a long busy day, some much needed rest.

But given his desire to serve and protect...Danilo doesn't stop there. With the hours saved every day Danilo not only helps his family, but also the bike beneficiaries enrolled in the program. Danilo enjoys leading the community rides aimed at improving riding skills and teaching road safety to all the beneficiaries.

His leadership qualities shine through during these training rides and throughout the repair workshops at the school. He also stepped up to help build the bike room at the school. His bike coordinator reports that Danilo was always ready to do whatever job was needed whether that was mixing cement or laying the bricks for the walls. He is a very active volunteer in the program and always met everyone with a smile on his face.

"I am so happy that Danilo can use my old bike to stay in school. It is admirable that he wants to give back to his community by becoming a police officer. I'm also impressed how much he gives back to this program and the students who receive the bikes we donate. It makes so much more sense to give our old bikes a new home especially when we aren't using them anymore. Enjoy the ride Danilo!" Wendy, previous Trek owner, generous Trek donor said.