Local Bike Donations

Courtesy St. Louis Bicycle Works

Yesterday we told you about how bikes donated by Bikes for the World are helping youth programs across the United States. We also explained why it's challenging to find new partners, something we are committed to working on continually.

Because BfW is the nation's largest bicycle reuse organization and we are handling over 15,000 bikes annually, we typically donate bikes in full containers (500 at a time). Locally, we sometimes donate as little as 30-100, but only when we know the bikes can be repaired with the recipient. This is why many of our domestic projects are earn-a-bike programs.

Family, originally from Ghana, earns bikes through Rockville

Five weeks ago Bikes for the World had shipped around 5,000 bikes for the year. That number is now close to 10,000. In the past two months, we have seen around 6,000 bikes come into our Arlington warehouse and we loaded containers every week. Needless to say, we don't have time to repair bikes coming through our warehouse; most of that is done through the partners we hand select.

But there are always exceptions to the rule. For example, in exchange for our use of the King Farm barn in Rockville we partner with the Parks and Rec department to pair Rockville youth with refurbished bikes through their TERRIFIC bike program. Our Operations Manager repairs about 50 bikes a year from our donated bikes to supply this program.

Takoma Park Middle School student

Right around the time we were working on the TERRIFIC bikes, we got word that a homeless student from Hyattsville needed a bike. We were able to find one in our Rockville supply that would work and delivered it to him last month.

The student was introduced to us through a teacher at Takoma Park Middle School and the Safe Routes to School program. His family is originally from The Gambia and relocated here from New York in hopes of better working prospects.

The family is currently homeless and staying in Hyattsville Maryland. During the school year, MCPS provides bus service to get kids to and from school, but the arrangement is difficult and makes his commute time consuming. The bike donated by Bikes for the World helped him finish out his school year and saved a ton of time.

St Augustine's Episcopal Church DC

 A few other donations materialized this spring through the hard work of some long time BfW collection partners. Finding a mechanic to get our donations in good working order is often the hardest part.

The West Springfield Rotary worked with The Bike Lane in Springfield to ready bikes for Kristi's Christmas, which donates bikes in June to Fairfax students in need.

The Waldorf Kiwanis has been doing an annual collection with Bikes for the World at Calvary Gospel in Waldorf for years. They approached us this spring and brought to our attention another church in Pikesville Kentucky who had a large number of poorer families who wanted bikes for their children.

During a recent loading in Arlington, the Kiwanis Club sent a truck and trailer to pick up 100 18 inch bikes that were donated by Bikes for the World. These kids bikes were taken to Kentucky where they will be refurbished and donated to the kids in the community.

St Augustine's Episcopal Church in DC (photo above), received a donation of seven bikes through our first Board Chairman Nick Griffin.

Every fall we also donate bikes to the Baltimore Christmas Bike Project.

 

From a Rockville Student to a Student in Bohol

King Farm

This year Bikes for the World reconditioned and donated 33 bikes to the TERRIFIC citizens of Rockville on May 18, 2014.

New helmets, donated by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, and BfW bicycles were awarded to 33 children ages 5-12 who participated in the Rockville Recreation and Parks Department’s “Terrific Bikes” program.

 

Kommy, 2014 Terrific bike earner

Bikes for the World collects unwanted bikes in the community and fixes them up at our King Farm warehouse. Some of these bikes are then given back to the community through the city's earn-a-bike program.  The majority of our bikes are donated to a dozen partner programs around the globe.

 

Children earned the bikes by completing at least six responsible acts, such as perfect school attendance for one month or volunteering at a charitable organization for an hour. Many did much more, including one 9-year-old who earned a bike for his younger brother so he could learn to ride.

Gabrielle, 2013 Terrific bike earner AND donor

Every year we find stories such as these where a young bike earner turns around and gives that bike to someone else. The last two years, in fact, several students brought us their old bikes that they had outgrown to donate to our program.

In 2013 we told you about Gabrielle, who earned a bike even though she had just received a new one for her birthday. She wanted to help another young person find the joys of riding a bike. This year we have an update on that bike Gabrielle donated.

Crea Ocdenaria

Crea Ocdenaria is a Junior at Pagnitoan National High School in Maribojoc, Bohol Philippines. Thanks to Gabrielle's efforts, Crea is now one of about 50 new bike beneficiaries in our latest school project in the Philippines.

Crea lives in the Barangay of Dipatlong which is about 3 kilometers from school. That's almost a four mile round trip walking everyday. Crea was chosen for the bike program based on her family's distance from school as well, as their financial situation. Her father, Edwin, is a laborer and earns about $100 a month for their family. Crea's mom, Marita is a housewife. Crea has three siblings, one brother and two sisters.

 

Pagnitoan HS beneficiaries practice riding skills

The bike Gabielle donated, a blue and silver Power Climber, is now helping Crea get to and from school faster, allowing her more time to study and help her mother with the house and her siblings. Crea is an honor student with a 90.6 average.

Many students are in danger of dropping out of school because of their lengthy commutes. Bicycles are helping entire families by keeping kids in school and getting them home faster to help with errands or family chores.

Pagnitoan National High School is the second school to take part in the Bikes for Education program established by Bikes for the Philippines and supported by Bikes for the World. Our newest beneficiaries just received their bikes after about a six month delay. The devastation last fall caused by the earthquake damaged much of Maribojoc, including the school (you can still see the rubble of a school building behind the bike beneficiaries in the photo above).

 

Paying It Forward

TERRIFIC awardees with the Mayor of Rockville

Congratulations to all the Rockville students who earned bikes this year through the City of Rockville's TERRIFIC program. Any student in Rockville has the opportunity to complete a series of tasks that in turn earns them a refurbished bicycle through Bikes for the World. The students are awarded a certificate, get their pictures taken with Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, and finally come out to King Farm to pick out new bikes.

Jordan Alpay poses with his new bike

Bikes for the World has been participating in the project for a few years now. The bikes are refurbished by our mechanic Nick Colombo and come from the huge stash donated at King Farm, where we have one of our main storage areas.

Participants complete six or more good deeds such as reading a book to someone who can't read themselves, trash clean up, sitting with an elderly person...one student even stuck up for a student who was being bullied.

Selected kids then come out and get to test ride a nice selection of bikes before choosing one to take home. Students who earned a bike also received a helmet, courtesy of Montgomery Fire and Rescue.

Ashley Thommana donated her old bike

Any student is eligible to participate and they can come back and try again next year...kids do outgrow their bikes pretty quickly, which parents know can be expensive.

The cool thing about this program is it introduces the students to Bikes for the World and the importance of taking care of your bike so you can donate it back to help another kid possibly learn how to ride or get to school.

And that's just what Ashley Thommana did. When she came to pick out a new bike, she brought her old one with her and donated it to Bikes for the World!

Chaula Butterworth's daughters have all participated in the program and she notes the life lessons involved with every aspect of earning the bike:

"This is our third year participating in your program and the girls have enjoyed it immensely. They take pride in doing the tasks necessary for earning the bikes, in getting recognized by the Mayor and council, and in donating one of our current bikes to a child at school who doesn't have a bike. They have learned the joy that comes from sharing something special (their bikes) with someone who can't afford such a luxury." Chaula Butterworth

Gabrielle Nadler donated her earned bike

Gabrielle Nadler, who just turned 10, Happy Birthday Gabrielle! got a new bike for her last birthday, but she still wanted to participate in the program. She has donated toys and clothes to charity before and she thought it would be a great idea to donate a bike. I like this girl's thinking! Her mom Marcie confirmed that if she was selected to receive a bike that she could donate it to someone else in the program:

"Gabrielle liked this idea and went full speed ahead completing all the tasks that needed to be completed. This has truly been a great life lesson for her in learning that it is better to give than to receive. She loved the fact that she was presented with a certificate from the mayor, but is very happy and proud that another child will have a new bike this spring." Marcie Nadler

Give 'em What They Want

2009 loading for Costa Rica

Bikes for the World is in position to ship its 70,000th bike before year's end and we are pretty darn proud of that. One of the things that makes us so successful overseas is that we listen to what our partner programs want and try to ship those types of bikes to those countries/programs.

For example, Costa Rica loves beach cruisers but doesn't want 3 speeds. The African countries are more rural and therefore want more mountain bikes than a more urban project like Barbados.

We get feedback from our partners that includes information pertaining to what their beneficiaries want and need, what the country is capable of sustaining, and what the government will actually allow into the country. We try to make our shipments as close to their requests as possible.


Kate Oberg's computer arriving in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica any used rubber product (not already on a bike), such as the spare tubes and tires we typically use to level out the boards between rows of bicycles, is NOT allowed; the government will confiscate this. That presents a problem with a container packed with over 500+ bikes; therefore, we only send NEW tires to Costa Rica.

One thing they do accept though, is computers. And we do, on special occasions, ship random items like this. Back in 2009, someone by the name of Kate OBERG donated a laptop computer to Costa Rica. And apparently if you have special ties to the Executive Director (she's Keith's daughter) you can actually get a picture of it being off loaded! :)

TERRIFIC program allows Rockville youth to earn bikes

Another factor to consider when shipping bikes overseas, is what spare parts or mechanical skills are needed to keep the bikes working. Walmart makes an 'odd' sized wheel that is 18" in diameter and many countries cannot find supplies for this size bike.

Because we support several youth programs right here in our area we often pull these bikes out to keep here in the local area. Many of these are reconditioned by BfW and donated to the City of Rockville for their TERRIFIC program.

BENN supported bike shop

We always ship spare parts along with a shipment of bikes; this is why we always say your bike doesn't have to be in perfect working condition. The bikes we pull from the Shady Grove recycling center are sometimes in bad shape, but still have working parts on them. So the volunteers that come out for our Thursday night volunteer nights will strip those frames for parts that will be shipped overseas.

This way local folks can work on the bikes once they arrive giving them a valuable marketable skill. It also helps make the program sustainable. Many of our partners provide skills training through their programs. This includes not only bike mechanic skills, but also business skills so they can successfully run a bike shop.

Erika Pimentel  Courtesy Patronato Luz del Ciego

On special occasions BfW has partnered with other groups to ship some unique items. Last year courtesy of Peace Corps Friends Panama and Goodwill Panama a few braillers (typewriters for the blind) accompanied a shipment of bikes to Panama.

Most recently we shipped 152 used water meters, surplus equipment donated by the Arlington County (VA) Department of Public Works, that were delivered via our partner Salvadoran Appropriate Technology Center and to a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador.

Sra Luz de Madrid

Most commonly, however, we ship portable sewing machines. One of our biggest annual collections at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Hagerstown often yields a lot of sewing machine donations.

Beneficiaries are often taught sewing techniques through the program and the donated machines not only facilitate this instruction but also help the recipients generate income for their families. BfW has donated over 200 sewing machines to Panama, Costa Rica, and Uganda.

Over the years we have also shipped half a container of books to the Gambia, for local schools, in partnership with Books for International Goodwill, a Rotary Club project. Half a container of wheelchairs, crutches, and canes went to Goodwill Panama through Goodwill Virginia. Given the mission of the Goodwill working with and training individuals with disabilities this shipment was much appreciated and needed. Even the ply board we use for stacking the bicycles is reused and valuable overseas.



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.