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Earth Day 2015 marked our third container loading for our Bikes for Education program in the Philippines. Over 400 bikes were loaded to be donated to our partner Bikes for the Philippines (BfP) who will be refurbishing the bikes and shipping them to Bohol.

Students at Fatima National High School in Cortes, Bohol have been chosen as beneficiaries and will undergo extensive training in bike handling skills, safety and basic bike maintenance. The bikes donated by Bikes for the World will help these students get to school more efficiently, saving them time, money, and energy.

This container of bikes was almost entirely collected, prepped, and loaded by students in Maryland, Virgina, and DC.

Rallied together by the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek (RCCC), a number of Frederick County schools joined forces to collect and prep 305 bikes at the annual RCCC bike collection in Frederick this April.

Many thanks to the Visitation Academy, Hood College Rotaract, Frederick Community College, and Mount Saint Mary's University Enactus Club.

Several other schools worked with BfW to help collect and prep bikes that were donated to Bikes for the Philippines. In Virginia, Irving Middle School and Springfield High School students worked side by side to contribute bikes to this effort.

A senior at the Friends School of Baltimore organized and managed a collection in connection with Earth Day activities at her school.

Our student volunteers were motivated to find as many bikes as they could, inspired by the stories of student beneficiaries at Baclayon HS, Pagnitoan HS, Lusaran, and the Regional Lead School for the the Arts, the newest school partner of BfP.

Jack Morris, from Boy Scout troop 666, completed his Eagle project with BfW collecting bikes that were some of the first rolled into the container for the Philippines. Jack, at 13, is one of the youngest scouts we've ever partnered with on an Eagle project.

In his project paperwork Jack stated, "I will continue to stay at my collection until my goal of 50 bikes is met." Thankfully Jack wasn't standing out there until midnight and in fact shattered his goal collecting 105 bikes during his collection.

Nathan Gurley of troop 1539 also completed his Eagle project the same weekend collecting over 50 bikes, some included in this Philippines shipment.

Continuing with the scout theme, Girl Scout Troop 1999, working toward their Bronze Award, helped us in the warehouse as we unloaded all the bikes coming in from these collections. They also help prep bikes that we received from local bike shops who partner with us to collect bikes from their customers who are upgrading their bikes.

Stone Ridge's Social Action crew helped pack the bikes into the container on Earth Day. Throughout the school year this crew worked on several loadings and worked to strip parts from marginal bikes that weren't worth shipping overseas. The parts are incredibly valuable to mechanics working on our bikes. Many of these parts were also included in this latest container.

It is worth noting, our last container donated to Bikes for the Philippines was also packed by the Stone Ridge Social Action crew.

Last, but certainly not least, college students across the country who are part of the FreeBike Project help fund this shipment.

Through this program, college students receive a free bike to use during the school year. The program was started in California and now stretches coast to coast with hundreds of bikes in their fleet.

FreeBike Project supports Bikes for the Philippines by donating money that helps deliver these bikes from our warehouse in Arlington VA half way around the world to rural school districts in the Philippines.

Turning Grease Into Bronze

Bikes for the World works with dozens of Boy Scouts throughout the year on Eagle projects where they collect bikes to be donated overseas. And we've found the girls LOVE working with us too. So we've made an effort to reach out to area Girl Scout troops to partner with them on collections and in the warehouse.

When asked about volunteering with us, the girls are usually very enthusiastic and that doesn't die down once we put a tool in their hands. The experience is valuable to these young girls who often work alongside Dad, get experience working with a team and following instruction, and actually learn a thing or two about how a bike works and how to use a few basic tools. Gaining mechanical confidence around their bikes is something these girls will take on the road with them for years to come.

The following is an article from Girl Scout Troop 5740, who worked with us in the warehouse:

On Saturday, February 28, 2015 we volunteered with Bikes for the World to fulfill community service requirements to earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award. 

We met at the Bikes for the World warehouse on Eads Street in Arlington, Virginia and volunteered for four hours.We used tools to take apart bikes to ship to Kenya in large containers.We made the bikes smaller by taking off the pedals, lowering the seat and turning the handlebars.

Bikes for the World collects bikes of all models in repairable condition (no tricycles), bike accessories and tools.They partner with non-profits globally to provide affordable used bikes to low-income recipients for access to school, work and healthcare.

We learned a new skill, we got to ride unicycles and bikes with motorcycle wheels.We watched them load 478 bikes into one big shipping container.

We had fun, we worked hard and we helped others in need.We even got dirty! If you want to get involved, check out their website www.BikesfortheWorld.org.

Scouts Are Prepared

Troop 495 wrenched the Kent Island collection

April 21st was a big day for Bikes for the World. In just two collections we pulled in over 200 bikes! We often get the question of 'how many bikes do you expect at a collection?' While we'd love to see over 50 bikes every time, some of our collections only yield 30 or so bikes. 100 is a great collection.

The secret is: it's not hard to do. Both of these collections were managed by brand new collection managers who did everything right. They read the collection guide, followed the suggestions, and the bikes came in.

The Kent Island collection was managed by BfW supporters George and Mary Medicus. They came to BfW to buy a trailer for their bike and fell in love with the organization. They wanted to do more to help...and boy did they!

They got the word out using the media, posters, and flyers and the donations came rolling in. We weren't sure what to expect, but by the time we arrived shortly after the collection started they already had about 45 bikes.

Mary and George approached a local boyscout troop to ask them to help out with the collection. The boys did most of the wrenching to compact bikes for shipping. Troop 495 helped unload bikes, diligently wrote receipts, and stayed to load bikes onto our truck. They were courteous, professional, and committed to the tasks.

Michael Dillard collects over 100 bikes

85 miles away in Ashburn Virginia, Michael Dillard, a faithful BfW volunteer and high school sophomore was also knee deep in donations. He teamed up with BfW partner Spokes Etc. to have his first collection in their parking lot.

Michael is your typical teen aged guy...he likes soccer, video games, and I'm going out on a limb here to say, he's not overly comfortable talking with reporters (who of us is?) But that's exactly what he did. He tells us the advertising was the hardest part of the collection. He sent out emails and did several newspaper interviews.

Girl scouts volunteer to wrench

We weren't prepared for the turn out he got, but he was! He knew how a collection was run because he had volunteered for us before. He asked his mom's girl scout troop to come volunteer, showed them how to process bikes, and before you knew it Nick was hauling away a couple truckloads of bikes in his pick up. 

"Overall it was a very rewarding and fun experience.  I hope the 108 bikes go a long way in helping people in need.  Everyone at Bikes for the World was really nice and helpful.  Nick was funny when he came to the collection and he even showed us a few "tricks" like how to turn the handle bars without unscrewing anything." Michael Dillard

Senthil Kannan of troop 1983 earns Eagle rank

Bikes for the World is proud of the change we bring overseas by providing affordable transportation to individuals in rural areas. Our bikes are increasing productivity, keeping kids in school, and bringing health care to remote villages.

We are equally proud of our impact here at home as well. In addition to providing a valuable 'green' solution to recycling we are also bringing rewarding community services projects to schools, faith groups, scouts, and many other organizations.

Over the years we have partnered with many Eagle scout candidates on their Eagle projects. Senthil Kannan, who worked with us last year bringing bikes into REI Fairfax, was just awarded Eagle rank this past weekend. He still wonders where all those bikes ended up and how many lives he has affected through this effort.

For more information on past Eagle projects: Eagle Scout Leaders

or find out more about hosting your own BfW collection