Rotary International Impacts Local Community

If we measured success by the number of bikes we collect, recognizing Philip Dondes of the West Springfield Rotary Club is a year overdue. And while we do count the number of bikes collected at our events, compare them year to year, and even count the number of bikes we ship overseas, what we really measure our success by is lives impacted.

And again, recognizing Philip Dondes is possibly a year overdue.

Bikes for the World collects and donates 14,000 bikes annually affecting lives from Costa Rica to Ghana to Bohol, Philippines. But it all starts here in our local communities. With leaders like Dondes organizing and managing bike collections for BfW, not only are we able to impact a greater number of people overseas, but we also have an enormous impact right here at home.

Dondes brought together the West Springfield Rotary Club, Irving Middle School, Bikes for the World, The Bike Lane, Kristi's Christmas, a local charity, and Interstate Van Lines who helped store bikes to be donated locally.

The Rotary Club, along with students from Irving, promoted the collection, hosted the one day drop off point, and prepped bikes to be shipped overseas. This year the collection netted  135 bikes and 3 sewing machines. Last year they collected 94. If we did keep track of numbers, we'd tell you the West Springfield Rotary Club collected 22 bikes their first year with us and 30 their second. The impact Dondes has had on the collection speaks for itself.

But it's the impact the collection has had on the community that we want to recognize. "This was a real team effort. Local businesses and volunteers supported the students' efforts. I witnessed positive attitudes, dedication, and mentoring," said Dondes.

Every year Dondes gives a presentation at the Middle School explaining the mission of Bikes for the World and highlighting the importance a bicycle has in someones life overseas. The collection is held just before Earth Day encouraging recycling and stressing the impact reuse can have on communities worldwide.

Courtesy Kristi's Christmas

A Rotary club's mission is to encourage service internationally, but also locally in the community. Using this motivation, Dondes organized a local bike donation through a charity close to the Club. Kristi's Christmas was founded by Rotary members Karen and Bill Brown to remember their daughter who was killed in an automobile accident in 1986.

"We included Kristi's Christmas as a recipient for bikes because our Rotary Club felt the need to donate locally as well as internationally. Kristi's Christmas has an impeccable record for getting donations to the kids who need them most. It was a natural fit." Philip Dondes

Last year Bikes for the World, through this effort, donated 13 bicycles to Kristi's Christmas. 19 bikes will be donated to Fairfax area students in need this month.

Because Bikes for the World does not refurbish bicycles, Dondes had to find a mechanic to look over all the bikes, making repairs, before the bikes could be donated to the charity. The Bike Lane in Springfield graciously donated mechanics' time to do this safety check. Interstate Van Lines loaned Dondes space to store the bikes until they could be donated later this month.

Job well done.

Ride Locally, Shop Locally, Donate Locally

Courtesy West Springfield Rotary

This year the annual bike collection with the West Springfield Rotary and Irving Middle School will take place on April 5th from 10am-2pm. Again the location will be at Irving Middle School in Springfield VA.

Last year the Rotary collected almost 100 bikes at this collection. About a dozen of them were turned around and donated locally through the non-profit group Kristi's Christmas who serves underprivileged students in Fairfax County.

This local donation of used bikes is made possible by the collective efforts of many groups involved. The West Springfield Rotary coordinated the entire process and The Bike Lane of Springfield really made it possible.

As you can imagine, bikes donated to Bikes for the World are not always in rideable condition when we receive them. Regardless, any bike donated would need to be looked over by a trained mechanic before it's donated to another youth.

The Bike Lane essentially donates their mechanics to this cause. All the bikes donated to Kristi's Christmas through the West Springfield Rotary and Bikes for the World are looked over by The Bike Lane before they are donated. The Rotary club donates the cost of any parts needed to get the bikes up and running again.

This effort will be repeating again in 2014. This year, Bikes for the World has agreed to donate bikes we currently have on hand to give The Bike Lane a jump on fixing them up before they get overly busy this spring.

Interstate Van Lines, located in Springfield, has agreed to join the cause by donating temporary storage of the bikes until they are distributed by Kristi's Christmas in May.

Irving Middle School students and the West Springfield Rotary will also be collecting bikes on our behalf on April 5, 2014.

 

Last year Kristi's Christmas donated 13 bikes to area Fairfax County students in need. The non-profit works with Fairfax teachers and principals to identify families for this program. Jose (above) is one of the beneficiaries. The Williams Family also received one bike that will be shared among three brothers:

"My boys were so excited to see a bike in the house. They have all come up with a schedule on who will learn to ride it first. We are all so very thankful."

Read more about the program or better yet, donate a bike to support the West Springfield Rotary April 5th.You can also contact Philip Dondes for more information on how to donate a bike. 703.200.4426

Why Wait For Christmas...

Courtesy Kristi's Christmas

 The time to ride is NOW.


Go slow and take your time as you travel on your way;
Follow your heart, go for your dreams no matter what others may say.

You’ll have many precious moments that too soon become the past;
Do things that will make you happy and make memories that will last.


Kristi Lynne Brown
March 16, 1968 – June 24, 1987
1986 WSHS graduate

Bikes for the World is proud to be part of Kristi's Christmas, a local organization dedicated to providing items to selected Fairfax county kids in need. Kristi Brown was a young woman who died in a tragic beltway accident in 1987. Her parents established this fund in her name and memory to honor her giving spirit. Kristi was also a heart, kidney, and cornea donor.

Courtesy West Springfield Rotary & Irving Middle School

 On April 13, 2013 the West Springfield Rotary, whose motto is "Service Above Self", along with Irving Middle School and West Springfield High School hosted their second annual bike collection with Bikes for the World. The group netted 94 bikes topping last year's collection of 61 bikes (also an impressive turnout).

Philip Dondes, a West Springfield Rotarian and new BfW collection manager, approached BfW about donating some bikes locally. Although most of our bikes are donated overseas where mechanics are readily available to recondition our donated bikes, Dondes pulled together a one time partnership between the Rotary, to collect bikes, Bikes for the World, to donate the bikes, The Bike Lane, who agreed to do free safety checks on the bikes, and Kristi's Christmas, who would help identify possible recipients. The latter two are very important criteria for BfW to consider a local donation.

Bikes for the World helped identify a select number of kids bikes for this program. Dondes then had these bikes transported to The Bike Lane, a local bike shop, who did the safety checks and in some cases swapped parts around to make 13 usable safe bikes to donate to Kristi's Christmas.

Irving Middle School

The Middle School students inspired Dondes who found it rewarding to be surrounded by their young, giving spirit."I never got the feeling the students wanted to be elsewhere," said Dondes.

Kristi's Christmas has special ties to the Springfield school district where Kristi was a West Springfield High School graduate. The organization partners with students at the high school to serve as a 'buddy' during their huge Christmas event.

All Fairfax county school administrators and counselors identify the neediest children in their districts for this program. At Christmastime, Kristi's Christmas partners each child up with a high school student who accompanies them for breakfast, a shopping spree at Target, and finishes with a visit from Santa.

But the donations and support come in year round. Other donated items distributed throughout the year include books, sleeping bags, food, backpacks, clothing, and real soon BIKES! All thanks to the hard work of Irving Middle School who helped advertise, collect, and process all these bikes for Bikes for the World. And let's not forget the West Springfield Rotary for organizing the whole thing, bringing it to our attention, and seeing it through. We hope to bring you an update on the distribution of those bikes when it happens in the next few weeks.

Kristi's Christmas has ABSOLUTELY NO OVERHEAD. All donations go to the kids of Fairfax county. If you'd like to learn more or help this program please visit  www.kristischristmas.org  

To learn more about the West Springfield Rotary you can contact Philip Dondes at
philip.dondes@nm.com