We're Getting A Face Lift!

Yes, we have been promising this for a long time, but it's almost here. In fact you should visit the old site one last time in case you want to say goodbye.

www.bikesfortheworld.org

By this time next week we feel confident in saying THE NEW long awaited website WILL BE LAUNCHED!

 

So what's NEW? Where do we start? Above you can see what the new home page will look like. We heard you wanted more pictures, so we are giving you photos right off the bat! Looks like the top of our blog, right? Exactly. Except on the website, these pictures (#1 above) will actually slide open when you hover over them. And if you click on them they will open a landing page inviting you to come even further into this new and improved website.

This is just another way to start your journey into our new website. We will still have a navigation bar at the top of the page, but with even more options! Once you hover over one of these boxes (#2 above) a drop down menu will open with even more boxes below, all leading to a unique related page.

But wait, the Collection Schedule button at the top is missing! No worries, it's still right there under Donate A Bike. And if you miss the button on the top just click on Donate A Bike...TADA, right there is your collection schedule as easy as you found it before.

Many of the same pages will appear on this new site, but more organized and with a better Bikes for the World look. We hope if you are looking to volunteer or organize your own collection you'll quickly and easily find what you need to get started. And all along the way to be exact. At the bottom of the Organize A Collection tab you will find Resources that will help you prepare for your collection.

And under Who We Benefit you'll find great information on where your bikes end up.Under International Partners are programs are highlighted and under Success Stories actual beneficiaries tell you how your old bike changed their lives. This is a great place to help tell YOUR story. So when you contact a reporter who wants to cover your collection, you can point them right to this tab on our website for actual stories from overseas.

Back on the Home Page...the bottom of the page has a map showing where we have shipped our bikes over the past eight years. If you click on it you will be directed to an interactive Google map that also highlights our global partners.

If you aren't already following us on Social Media, look at the top of our site (#3 above) It's super easy to start! We have quick informative updates on facebook and twitter. Have you seen our photo albums on Picasa? Videos on YouTube? I can tell you already read our blog! Check out the Share Bar (#4 above) on the left of the site. This will follow you no matter where you go. And if you see something you like: SHARE IT! Tell your friends about us, invite them to join us!

And last, but certainly not least...the right side of the home page. First, a bike counter letting you know how many bikes we've shipped to date. Under that you'll find our latest News & Events. Find out about loadings, collections, events, what's new on the blog...right here on our new home page. And if you want updates in your inbox, we've got that too! Just sign up to receive our newsletter and you'll get a quick synopsis monthly.

So there you go....your introduction to the new and improved website. Due out any day now. We'll give you a head's up on facebook when we launch or you can keep checking to see when we hit the switch. But I promise you, we are hours away...

And we couldn't have done it without our amazing web team Confluence, who made all the pretty stuff happen.

The Little Bike That Could

JOAN IGCAS

Do you remember your first bike? Joan Igcas does. In fact it's only been about a year since she first learned how to ride it. You'd never guess it if you rode next to her. The roads she travels on her mile commute to school are steep and muddy...to say they are a challenge to navigate on a bicycle is an understatement. And she handles them like a pro.

Joan was one of about 80 students in Baclayon on the island of Bohol, Philippines to receive a bicycle through the program Bikes for the Philippines. Like many of her classmates, Joan had no idea how to ride a bike. She told us she was nervous and found it to be tiring:

As part of the school curriculum, the bike beneficiaries of this program are taught how to ride, proper handling skills, bike safety, and bike maintenance. Students are required to wear helmets and may only use the loaned bicycles to get to and from school.

Once they graduate, the bike is turned over to them and they may use it to continue their studies, get to and from work, or however they wish. The goal of the program is to keep kids enrolled in school. The bi-product has been creating hopes and dreams in young people who once had neither.

This program has been so successful in Baclayon, Bikes for the Philippines is now preparing to have a second container of bikes shipped through Bikes for the World to a new project in Maribojoc, a nearby community also on the island of Bohol.

You can follow their progress on facebook. To support the program, donations are accepted through Bikes for the World by indicating PHILIPPINES in the Designation Code Box on the donation form.
DONATE HERE

Forging Freedom in El Salvador

FORJANDO MI LIBERTAD

Courtesy CESTA

El pasado 26 de febrero un Grupo de más de 100 Jóvenes, tuvieron la gran oportunidad de andar en bicicleta por el centro de San Salvador.

This past February 26, a group of more than 100 young people had the grand opportunity of riding bikes through the downtown of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. 

No tuviera mayor importancia, sino fuera porque 70 de estos jóvenes son muchachos y muchachas que están recluidos en centros de rehabilitación del Instituto Salvadoreño para el Desarrollo Integral de la Niñez y Adolescencia (ISNA). Algunos de ellos están en esos lugares por abandono de sus padres y otros por delitos menores.

Distinguishing this group is that at least 70 of these young men and women are residents of the half-way houses of the Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA), many housed in these institutions owing to parental abandonment or minor juvenile mis-deeds.

Ese día el ISNA junto con el grupo de ciclistas llamados Bici crítica organizó una bicicletada, apoyados por CESTA. Esta es una de las maneras de cómo se está buscando combatir la delincuencia en el país, buscando mecanismos y espacios donde la juventud pueda tener oportunidades de invertir su tiempo, fuerza, deporte y porque no también disfrutar de diversión.

This event was co-organized by ISNA and the cycling advocacy organization Critical Bicycle (Bici Crítica), supported with bicycles provided by the Salvadoran Appropriate Technology Center (CESTA).  This is one of the ways showing how juvenile delinquency can be addressed, identifying mechanisms and opportunities  where young people can invest their time and energies, in sport and simple recreation.

Estos jóvenes son líderes positivos que el Instituto está promoviendo para demostrar que es posible combatir la delincuencia por medio de diferentes actividades.

 These young people are examples of positive leadership, demonstrating that juvenile delinquency can be combatted by healthy activities.   

 

CESTA is supported by:

·         Bikes for the World

·         Bikes Not Bombs

·         Cycle North-South

·         Pedals for Progress

Success Stories: Don Marco Costa Rica

DON MARCO

Marco Vinicio sells ice cream and frituras—fried snacks—in the Costa Rican capital, San José.  For years, “don Marco,” as he is known, traveled on foot from construction sites to offices to small shopping malls in a small section of the city.  On any day, he could cover only a few sites and rarely sold more than a large bag of fried items and a few ice pops, generating the barest living for his wife and seven children.

Bikes for the World partner, the Fundación Integral Campesina deCosta Rica, a non-profit micro-credit program, sold Marco a reconditioned bicycle for about $10, which he could pay in weekly installments over one month.  Don Marco commented that never in his life did he think he would be able to buy such a good-quality bicycle at such a low cost, and on installment payments.  The investment paid off immediately: able to reach many more sites every day, don Marco’s sales increased so dramatically that he paid off the bike in only two weeks.  The last we heard, don Marco was considering purchasing another bicycle—as a Christmas present for his youngest daughter.

Eagle Scout Leaders

While most of BfW was tucked away in the DC Convention Center this past weekend enjoying Greenfest, at least one local collection was still in full swing. Alex Tatem chose BfW as his Eagle scout leadership project and the location was his place of employment BfW partner, City Bikes in Chevy Chase. 

Alex Tatem: "My position is sales which I love because I am on the front line sharing my passion of riding with a huge range of different types of bikers. There is nothing better than helping someone find their perfect bike and getting them out on the roads…. or trails."

Courtesy Alex Tatem

This was a three-way partnership that proved to be a huge success with Alex netting about 90 bikes. Unlike most scouts, Alex even orchestrated the delivery of the bikes to BfW's storage site at King Farm in Rockville.

Alex Tatem: "The great part about the collection was before it even started I had about 25 bikes. This was very useful because right when the volunteers arrived they could start working. Having my volunteers constantly busy really moved the collection on smoothly and helped when all the other bikes started to flow in a lot faster. I had the trailers and vans open in the parking lot. I had people constantly loading the vans and trailers the whole time and had someone at the trailers approving the bikes before they were put in."

We at BfW couldn't ask for anything more! Every weekend BfW partners with community organizations from schools, faith groups, government organizations, bikes shops...We have literally hundreds of partners throughout the year who make our collections a huge success.

Nick Bielamowicz troop 1916 Eagle project

One we are particularly proud of is Eagle scouts. The term 'Eagle scout' is most synonymous with 'leadership' and BfW is a perfect choice for an Eagle scout project.Over the last eight years BfW has helped over 60 scouts earn the distinction of Eagle scout.

What we demand at Bikes for the World in managing a collection perfectly matches the requirements laid out in the Eagle Scout service project workbook. Some of those criteria are managing a dynamic, unpredictable public event, publicity, and training and overseeing a volunteer workforce, Keith Oberg Director Bikes for the World.

Chris Richards Eagle project troop 167

BfW worked with Chris Richards in 2005 with his Eagle scout project. Chris collected 63 bikes at the REI in Baileys Crossroads. Those bikes were included in a one time shipment to Haiti. Richards went on to Dickinson College and is now the Digital Marketing Strategist for Fanpage Toolkit.

Chris Richards, Eagle scout and former BfW collection manager: "The collection was a great project because it put me in a position to coordinate and lead a very hands on event. I remember feeling overwhelmed by some of the planning at the time, but in reality, it was great preparation for the amount of planning some work required in college and beyond in the work force. Additionally, it sparked my interest in efforts to behave in a more sustainable manner. Eventually, during school at Dickinson College, I became very involved in their campus sustainability programs, helping to educate the student body on what the school was doing to be "greener." Looking back, the time coordinating work with Bikes for the World probably implanted that desire in me to see things put to good use through recycling and reusing."

Thomas Tribble troop 1983

 BfW most recently worked with Senthil Kannan and Thomas Tribble both of troop 1983, Nick Bielamowicz troop 1916, and Alex Tatum troop 255. Between the four scouts, the young men collected 335 bikes that will be sent overseas and change many lives.

All the scouts agreed that it was a rewarding service project and had fun completing it. Senthil tells BfW that it was pretty easy (see the video below).

More from Richards:
"...many Eagle projects seem to emphasize several days of physical work, this one was unique in that I was able to complete much of the work on that one day at REI, while the work leading up to it, and hours of planning were equally as valuable and certainly important. In that sense, I think the collection better prepared me for college and professional life than the usual trail cleaning or what have you, as most things are not physical, but organizational in nature once you move past the days of scouts."

Senthil Kannan, troop 1983, completed his Eagle scout project with BfW in 2012 at the REI in Fairfax:

Wheels of Africa: BfW heads to Kenya



First BfW container donated to WoA

Wheels of Africa received its first container of bicycles from Bikes for the World in May, a second a few weeks ago and we are loading a third this weekend! This builds on their first shipment in December 2011 from Montana based non-profit Wheels of Change.

Wheels of Africa (WoA) got started in October 2008. Back then it was more of a club for people to get together to ride for pleasure. It has since evolved into a bike advocacy group  and much more. Now it sells and rents bikes, trains mechanics and donates bikes to selected local groups.

You've heard us talk about the Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN), another BfW partner, here on the blog a lot lately and this is no exception. BEN Namibia mechanics went to Nairobi to train budding WoA mechanics.

New bike beneficiary in Kenya

 While most WoA bikes are sold, many are donated.  Bramwel Simiyu from Arrow Web Hospital for AIDS patients in Nairobi, picked up 12 WoA donated bicycles to be used by health workers who visit patients at home. Another 13 were given to Kijiji cha Upendo, a program in Kibera, a slum area nestled against Nairobi proper. These bikes will be the start of training for some young mechanics and bike sales. Eco Tourism Kenya received 10 bikes for working class staff members to kick start their bike rental enterprise.

Hellen Gelband with Bramwel Simiyu and WoA's Prisca Oluoch

BfW Board Member Hellen Gelband has been over to see the program in person and help get BfW's partnership with WoA rolling. She brought us some of the above findings and hopes to bring home more stories of how your donated bikes are bringing dreams to remote pockets of Africa. We hope to hear more stories from her journeys as our bikes change lives two wheels at a time.

You can read more about Wheels of Africa by simply following our blog or joining us on facebook!

Stone Ridge Girls ROCK!

The BfW gang from Stone Ridge Social Action

Meet Lisa Adam, Allison Arinaga, Ellie Blakeslee, Allie Delgado, Deborah O'Connell, Andie Segura, and of course Mr. Woodard. These are the young ladies from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart's Social Action Club.

BfW partnered with Stone Ridge on this project last year. Social Action, according to its blog, "is a comprehensive service-learning program that is central to the Upper School experience.Through preparation, action, and reflection, Social Action cultivates critical consciousness of issues of justice, inculcates a life-long commitment to service, and develops students’ potential for leadership in building and maintaining just partnerships."

All of us at BfW think it's just plain COOL. So a couple times a month this hardworking group comes out to our King Farm storage site and volunteers their time to help bring transportation options to remote corners of the world.  Today was actually their first day; ex-classmates Charlotte and Elizabeth had such a great experience last year we tripled in size this year! And we couldn't be happier.

When I asked them why they chose BfW the answers varied from wanting to be outside to wanting to make that global impact. The students have a variety of organizations to choose from including helping youngsters with school work to volunteering at a nursing home. Each project brings a rewarding experience to the participants.

Stone Ridge loading for Panama

We are very thankful for the help and honored to be part of the program. We have tried to schedule our loadings at King Farm in connection with when the group will be out there to help. This gives them a rewarding experience and gives us the experienced crew to help load.

The first day was no exception. Nick had them working within 20 minutes of meeting them for the first time. The shipment they started today will be finished during Volunteer Night on Thursday and be on its way to Panama by the weekend. Now that's a Cool School!

 To read more about last year's experience you can click on: Impelled to Act!

Bike Safety

Bikes for the World was founded in January 2005 as a sponsored project under the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA).  Our first bicycles went to Honduras, with shipments following to Sri Lanka (for tsunami recovery) and even Haiti.

BfW has grown over the years averaging about 10,000 bikes shipped per year making us the nation's largest non-profit bicycle reuse program. In April 2011 BfW became an independent 501(c )(3) agency.  Since its founding, it has donated more than 70,000 bicycles internationally and in the Washington DC Metro region; in this year alone, it expects to donate more than 13,000 bikes.

Donated helmets

BfW typically sends bikes to underdeveloped areas. That is to say, road infrastructure is deficient and bike safety is not part of the culture. Helmet use is of great concern to many people involved with BfW and we, therefore, have not only sent numerous helmets overseas but we have also encouraged partner agencies to distribute and support helmet use among beneficiaries.

Bikes for the Philippines requires the use of a helmet

Helmet use, however, is difficult to track. We have no way of knowing if beneficiaries are even using the helmets we ship overseas. Not so in the case of Bikes for the Philippines (BfP) where students are required to use a helmet in order to receive a bicycle.
Through a fundraising initiative, BfP raised money in order to purchase brand new helmets for all their beneficiaries. The local bike club in Manila, The Firefly Brigade, also donated lights to the students.

Peacock Garden resort sent a rescue vehicle for student

I can personally attest to A) the importance of wearing a helmet and B) the need for either lights or reflective gear. When I visited Baclayon (Philippines) in February I had the opportunity to ride with the students to and from school. Every night we returned home in complete darkness. And it is dark!

While on one of these rides I witnessed one of the students crash on the rocky terrain. Although she was pretty shaken up, she was not seriously injured in large part because she was wearing a helmet. She had a pretty good bruise on her shoulder, a cut under her eye, and a ding in her helmet where she broke her fall on a rock.

So when Carlos Ovalle, a BfW supporter and cyclist, approached us about a similar problem in Nicaragua, where his wife Angela is from, we were all ears. What Ovalle wanted to do was raise funds to purchase reflective tape and install the tape on bicycles while in Nicaragua visiting family. BfW agreed to 'sponsor' this project in order to learn more about the effectiveness of relatively inexpensive reflective tape as a means of safety among rural cyclists.

Courtesy BEN

This has also been a concern in Africa and is monitored by the Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN). They distributed reflective sashes to some beneficiaries.

As Ovalle points out, as roads in Nicaragua become more congested the threat of injury to cyclists rises. Due to the economic status of many of our beneficiaries in all countries we serve, lights, reflective gear, even bike reflectors are often not an option for many riders.

Where bicycle safety is not a priority for a community beneficiaries are very much at risk. In the case of Baclayon, the Local Government Unit did take notice to the increased bike traffic and legal initiatives are being considered.

Unfortunately night riding cannot be avoided especially when the days get shorter. Even here in DC commuters start pulling out their lights in October when it's getting dark before the work day is over. Imagine how dark it would get in a rural village without street lights. Not to mention the pedestrians wearing dark clothing sharing the same streets. 

Stay tuned to our blog for an update on Carlos Ovalle's mission to install reflective tape in Nicaragua. And if you'd like to contribute to this fund or to help provide helmets in the Philippines you can do so through our website or the link on the side of this blog, just indicate "Nicaragua Safety"  or "Philippines" in the Designation Box at the bottom of the donation form.