Bikes Build Leadership From the Ground Up

Bikes for the World offers a great outlet to corporations looking for a rewarding team building experience for their employees. Whether the corporate group joins us for a loading or just a processing day in the warehouse, it's a fun activity for colleagues to connect with each other outside a cubicle.

A third way for a corporation to bring employees together for a team building activity to benefit the community is a bike build. Two companies recently donated two dozen bikes from these bike builds that we turned around and donated locally and overseas.

During a corporate event, Rockville based Apex Companies purchased and assembled seven Diamondback 24" mountain bikes. The event was held in Chantilly and involved employees from all over the country.

Teams were responsible for building the bikes from the box and ensuring that the wheels turned and the brakes stopped.

Apex Companies contacted us before the event to ensure the bikes would be useful to our program. We asked that they donate a larger size bike, which would be more beneficial, so they purchased the 24" size from DICK'S Sporting Goods.

Bikes for the World identified two local organizations who could use the bikes to support two school programs. During our 100k donation events in November, BfW donated two Apex built bikes to Gearin' Up Bicycles in DC and two to Phoenix Bikes in Arlington. We also included two in the container to Costa Rica that will be arriving just in time for Christmas.

DICK'S Sporting Goods also recently hosted a bike build (to experience what their mechanics in the bike shop do) at their headquarters in Pittsburgh. Those 16 20" bikes were donated to Bikes for the World and also shipped in the container heading to FINCA Costa Rica.

Student mechanics at Phoenix Bikes

Both local bike organizations that received these new bikes offer earn-a-bike programs to area youth where they can learn mechanics while earning a bike. Most bikes donated to the program are used and in need of repairs and tune ups which offer a great experience to these student mechanics.

The new bikes from Apex Companies will be used in two local school projects that promote cycling as a healthy lifestyle choice. The bikes will also be used to increase bicycle safety and awareness .

Phoenix Bikes identified a school in Alexandria that needed the Diamondbacks for a school project next spring. Cora Kelly Elementary School operates a program called Bike for your Brain that is turning students into safer cyclists and bike advocates.

Fifth graders will bike between elementary schools to learn safe bike routes while improving their riding and safety skills. Through their PE class they will learn how biking supports an active, healthy lifestyle. They will also improve leadership skills and become better bike advocates.

Over in DC, Gearin' Up Bicycles has identified a program designed to teach similar skills to students at Capital City Charter School. This winter, students will begin by learning the mechanics of a bike. The Apex Companies bikes donated to Gearin' Up Bicycles will actually be stripped down to the frame and rebuilt by students in this learning earn-a-bike experience.

Students will then learn safety and practice their riding skills as it starts to warm up next spring. The program ends with a 335 mile bike ride from DC to Pittsburgh....uphill!

Apex fall bike build

Team building activities can motivate the team create energy, and inspire enthusiasm amongst staff. It's a valuable tool in a company to increase productivity in the workplace...and can be used to make a huge impact in the community.

Apex Companies offers comprehensive professional and field services to assess, prevent and cure environmental issues related to water, ground, facilities and air quality. Blending superb technical skills with creativity and business savvy, they focus on how to reduce or eliminate environmental risks and liabilities economically and expediently.

Simply put, this partnership was a perfect fit!

Give a Man A Bike...

Mauricio of Phoenix Bikes

Better yet...teach him (or her) how to fix one! There is a saying about giving a man a fish vs. teaching a man to fish. That basic principle is exactly how our local bike organizations work in DC. It's also the foundation for how Bikes for the World operates and donates bikes around the world.

Mauricio came up through the earn-a-bike program established through Phoenix Bikes in Arlington. He learned the basics of a bike, and dove into more complex mechanics as he hung out in the tiny shed on the edge of Barcroft Park over the years. He is now a paid mechanic at Papillon Cycles.

Gearin' Up Bicycles

They are riding in the same gear over at Gearin' Up Bicycles in Northeast DC. This local group is creating career development opportunities and teaching essential workplace skills to teens from underserved communities through earn-a-bike programs that also promote cycling as a healthy lifestyle choice.

Phoenix Bikes has been "specializing in awesome" since 2007 and Gearin' Up has been up and running since 2012. Gearin' Up Bicycles just moved to a new permanent location at 314 Randolph Place NE. Phoenix Bikes is still operating in Barcoft Park, Arlington.

Both groups offer affordable bikes for sale reconditioned by trained youth enrolled in the program. Beginning in December Gearin' Up will open the shop to YOU on Tuesdays from 6-8pm for their BYOB (Build Your Own Bike) program.

Craig Annear helps load donated bike

Bikes for the World is proud to donate bikes to both of these local youth programs in the DC area. Bikes for the World's mission is to help provide affordable transportation to workers and students who need the bikes to better their lives. On November 15, 2014 BfW donated its 100,000th bicycle since 2005.

Because of the volume of bikes collected and donated at BfW, our main focus is partnering with other non-profit groups who have established programs in place that support our mission. This allows us to concentrate on moving a large number of bikes, therefore helping a greater number of people, without the distraction of fixing up bikes that are in need of repair.

Donation to Phoenix Bikes

The donations from BfW helps support programs locally and around the world, providing life skills that will improve the lives of beneficiaries enrolled in the programs. Our partners often teach mechanics and business skills that allow people to open and operate successful bike shops in rural Africa and the streets of inner city El Salvador.

Back here at home, Phoenix and Gearin' Up are doing similar work, teaching life skills to youth in the DC area. They are learning how to work as a team in a business setting and earning bikes in the process. Both groups offer valuable after school activities that engage and teach its members. They also do a lot of community outreach, offering group rides and participating in local events.

And the donating and support goes both ways. Phoenix Bikes organized a ride over to the BfW warehouse to help us celebrate donating our 100,000th bike this past weekend. As you can see, they weren't empty-handed when they arrived, toting a healthy supply of tires for our shipment.

Bikes for the World donates road bikes locally that aren't as suitable for the rural roads overseas. Both Phoenix and Gearin' Up also collect bikes on their own and often end up with bikes and/or parts in excess of what they need or can use. They then donate those items to BfW for use overseas. Our groups work together to provide the best bikes to the best areas around the world.

Waldorf Kiwanis will deliver 180 bikes to Pikeville KY

During our 100k event weekend, Bikes for the World donated over 200 bikes to three local bike organizations including a church group in Pikeville Kentucky.

In 2014, BfW donated more bikes locally than any other year, a testament to our growth pattern across the board. Over 1,000 bikes donated to BfW stayed here at home serving nine different local groups in 2014. Since our beginning in 2005, BfW has donated about 4% of all collected bikes to local groups.

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.

High Rollers

Eagle scout Senthil Kannan and Yvette Hess of BfW

Don't you do anything for kids locally?

We get this question all the time. We absolutely do! In addition to providing bikes for the Rockville based TERRIFIC program, Bikes for the World's mission is to offer rewarding community service projects to youths, teens, and adults.

Whether they are collecting bikes in their community or assisting to load a container for overseas our volunteers are walking away with an invaluable experience. In fact it coincides with the high standards of Eagle rank, thus making Bikes for the World a perfect fit for an Eagle project and why we've partnered with over 70 scouts over the years.

So even though it's about the bike, it's truly about so much more. Board member Ted Haynie, a retired school principal, put it like this: 

“We engaged in many opportunities for our students to develop awareness traits like respect, responsibility, self-discipline, empathy, etc., all the standard stuff but not by just talking to them about it; rather by giving them multiple chances to experience these traits in practice.  This led us to Bikes for the World.  The idea of expanding students' global awareness of life in developing countries where children are unable to attend school or get to the doctor because of the lack of personal transportation was an important concept.  The whole notion of our throw-away society was also something we wanted to convey as well as just simple activism and becoming involved in service to others.”

Rockville TERRIFIC bike recipient

 But don't you provide bikes to the 'World'?

We do. But it's not that simple. First, Bikes for the World has donated over 80,000 bikes to date. That's a lot of bikes! We get that a lot too. We aren't impacting that many people by dealing with beneficiaries on an individual basis. What we do at Bikes for the World is select other non profits who receive bikes from us in bulk that they will then in turn donate individually.

Second, keep in mind these are used bikes. They don't always arrive to us in trail-ready condition. A bike mechanic has to look them over and often repair or replace parts in order to make them safe to ride. Providing helmets, locks, reflectors, and lights is also a good idea. This is time consuming and costly, which is why we leave it to organizations who can focus on the safety aspect AND see to it that the bikes are delivered to people who need them most.

Courtesy Phoenix Bikes

Where do you donate bikes locally?

BfW has donated bikes to several local community groups over the years. Because of the abundance of unwanted and discarded bikes in the DC area, most local bike organizations can easily find bikes to support their programs.

Meet Phoenix Bikes in Arlington. This group collects bikes locally, runs a successful earn-a-bike program, and sells used bikes to support the shop.

Springfield bikes for Kristi's Christmas

You may recall earlier this year we partnered with the West Springfield Rotary, who partnered with Irving Middle School, and The Bike Lane, and Kristi's Christmas, who worked with the Fairfax area school district to collect, fix, and distribute bikes to kids in need.  Phew, that was a lot. But that's what it took just to collect, transport, and fix up 13 bikes to use locally.

It's practically a full time job. Which is why Bikes for the World focuses on its mission to collect and distribute (as-is) bikes, leaving the rest to organizations who are focused on the the final steps. So no, unfortunately, we can't donate a bike or two here or there, simply because do have the staff or time to devote to doing so, but what we can do is recommend another group who might be able to help.

Next time we will bring you the story of a local man who is doing just that, collecting bikes, fixing them up, and finding them new homes. Charles Jones started up a local organization called Alexandria's Bikes for Tykes, Teens, and Adults in need. He teamed up with Bikes for the World several years ago, and now some of our donated bikes end up right back here locally, thanks to the dedication and hard work of Jones, affectionately known as the Bike Doctor.

Big Bear Bike Sale

Saturday December 8th 10am-2pm

Tis the Season...for buying a bike AND supporting your favorite local non-profit. Several times a year Big Bear Cafe opens their outdoor area to local bike non-profits Bikes for the World and Phoenix Bikes for a big used bike sale.

For you it's a great time to come out and find the perfect used bike at an affordable price. For us it helps raise funds to support our international mission by selling off some of the high end road bikes unsuitable for the terrain of our international partners. Not only that but we get to promote one of our favorite local youth projects: Phoenix Bikes.

Courtesy Phoenix Bikes

Phoenix Bikes is THAT local group YOU keep asking us about! Phoenix Bikes is located in South Arlington and reaches out to area youth to get them involved and active in the cycling community.

Why are they so cool? Besides the biking aspect you mean? It's the kids of course. Phoenix is not just a local bike club or bike shop, they run a youth development education program and Earn-A-Bike program. The participants in the program are trained in bike mechanics, learn life skills, engage in problem solving, and learn the value of giving back to the community. These kids are learning valuable skills that will help them throughout their lives, all from the saddles of their bikes.

The bikes Phoenix collects come from a variety of sources just like ours at Bikes for the World. We value this project for what it gives these kids as well as the community we live and work in. Phoenix Bikes is actually a huge supporter of Bikes for the World! They often get in plenty of bikes that aren't suitable for their program that they in turn donate to BfW.

The ones they keep the kids work on, earn, and sell in the bike shop that helps support the program. Refurbishing bikes is something we at BfW don't have the staff to keep up with given we collect over 10,000 bikes a year. We will be at the Big Bear sale this weekend with about a dozen or so high end or vintage road bikes that were donated to us. These select frames can do more to further our global mission if we sell them locally than ship them overseas where they may not be suitable for the job in front of them. Our expert mechanic (and Operations Manager) Nick Colombo has tuned up these bikes and will have them available for sale from 10am - 2pm but come early, they go quick.

Phoenix Bikes will have a larger selection and variety. If you are looking for a mountain bike, single speed, cruiser, or hybrid this is the place to be! All proceeds from the sale will benefit our respective organizations and help us keep doing what we are doing. See you at the Sale!

Big Bear Cafe
 1700 1st St (1st and R St)  NW DC 
Saturday December 8th
10am - 2pm

BfW Goes LOCAL

Yes! We do donate some our bikes right here in our community. We are asked this all the time. While most of our efforts are overseas due to the large quantity of bikes we ship, we do support a few local programs as well and today we gave away about 30 bikes out at King Farm.

Bikes for the World is proud to partner with the City of Rockville Department of Recreation and Parks every year to supply bikes for their TERRIFIC program. The TERRIFIC program is a values-building program aimed at reinforcing good habits and practices by young people in the community.

This year 30 students earned bikes through this program by completing tasks defined by the Department. Awardees must be TERRIFIC Rockville citizens...Trustworthy, Earnest, Respectful, Responsible, Involved, Fair, Industrious, and Caring.

Along with Jenny Olin Bike Safety, Coordinator  of Rockville, Bikes for the World representatives including Keith, Nick, Craig, and several new board members, helped fit kids with new helmets and locks donated through BfW and the City of Rockville. The kids were then allowed to pick out a reconditioned bike donated by BfW.

This program is open to all students enrolled in grades 1-5 in Rockville public or private elementary schools. With the completion of six (or more) of the responsible acts listed on the back of the program flyer issued by the City of Rockville a child can earn a bike through this program. They just need a responsible adult (parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, or guardian) to sponsor and monitor their progress. A non-family member must certify at least two of the responsible acts.

Bikes for the World does support half a dozen local programs. In addition to the TERRIFIC program in Rockville, BfW also partnered with Montgomery County's temporary workers' program to donate more than 20 bicycles to individuals needing transportation to get to work.

In Arlington, an "earn-a-bike" program with Phoenix Bikes benefits from some bikes donated by Bikes for the World. This program receives quality road bikes which teens repair and either sell--to support the program--or earn for their own use. They are mentored by experienced adults in a structured, safe, and supportive environment. BfW is always looking for qualified organizations such as this to support local bike use.

Finally, BfW donates a number of children's bicycles--especially of a size manufactured by Wal-Mart which is not found overseas and therefore not overly sustainable or easily repaired or replaced outside the USA. These bikes are often donated to one of three Northern Virginia "Christmas bike" programs gifting bikes to children in low-income households.