Featured Volunteer: Mechanics For a Day...Or Two

Burgundy students

This month Bikes for the World recognizes Burgundy Farm Country Day School in Alexandria Virginia.

Bikes for the World has worked with over 70 schools since 2005. Every year we work with a couple dozen schools who host bike collections with us. About a dozen more come out to our warehouse to help us load bikes that will be shipped overseas.

Burgundy is one of the very few schools who has worked with us on collections AND loadings, giving their students the whole picture of what we do at Bikes for the World.

Keith loading up bikes

Over the years Burgundy has consistently done a bike collection with us every fall. In 2013 they made a goal to collect 50 bikes during their collection. They usually collect around 35 annually.

They stunned Director Keith Oberg, who showed up in his van (that holds about 35 bikes) when the school exceeded their goal and collected almost double their normal amount. Good thing Keith brought the trailer! They managed to load all 60 bikes collected that day by throwing some on top of the van.

Burgundy at 2013 collection

"This is an out-of-the-box recycling initiative that also helps foster among our students an appreciation for cultural and social values, sharing an interesting perspective about diverse needs and cultures," said Doug Fishman, Sustainability Coordinator at Burgundy and Bikes for the World collection manager.

"So many of us who volunteer at the collection take for granted our own access to transportation, or even the fact that we're able to collect so many bicycles. We're giving a second life to old bikes, simultaneously improving lives for people in need."

Burgundy at 2014 loading

Not too many students join us for both a collection and loading. It's a big commitment from a school to provide both of these community service projects for their students, especially when one of them is at our warehouse.

There's actually a pretty good chance some of the bikes they collected last November ended up
in the container we loaded with them in January. We can't always promise where a bike is going to end up except when we are carrying it onto the truck! So these guys know those bikes are heading to Panama.

"Bikes for the World looks forward to working with Burgundy every year. The kids are really into it; they like the mechanics of it as well as what's behind it. The students found these bikes for us and now they see where they are going. That's pretty cool," said Yvette Hess, Bikes for the World Outreach Coordinator.

"Participating in this program allows children to connect personally to a cause. We hope they see volunteering is fun. But we love showing them the difference they are making for kids just like them miles (and oceans) away."

Featured Volunteers: We Honor Our Troops

Conor Mears troop 159

Ben O'Brien              Troop     170              100 Bikes
Joseph Gerard          Troop       68               30  Bikes
Sean Clark                 Troop   1131               35  Bikes
Liam Brennan            Troop   1352               76  Bikes
Conor Mears             Troop     159               87  Bikes
John Finn                   Troop     472               70  Bikes
Patrick Franz              Troop     945             151  Bikes

 

Bikes for the World relies on hundreds of collection managers a year to organize bike collections in their neighborhoods. These individuals recruit and train volunteers, seek out potential donors by advertising the event, and organize and manage the collection itself. BfW would like recognize the above list of seven scouts who organized and managed events for us in 2013 by completing their Eagle projects with BfW. Between them, these young men collected 549 bikes for individuals overseas who will use them to stay in school, generate more income for their families, or to run errands for the household.

John Finn troop 472

 The Eagle Project is one of the most important steps for scouts striving for the highest attainable rank in the Boy Scouts of America. There are over 2.3 million Eagle Scouts and they range from actors, astronauts, inventors, even President of the United States. They are reliable friends, husbands, fathers, and most importantly role models.

Eagle scouts are trained to survive under extreme conditions. They are skilled in cooking, life saving preparedness, and first aid. They have made significant contributions to their communities and are trained to lead and manage.

Eagle projects range from collecting books for schools, to building park benches, or refurbishing historic cemeteries. 

Conor Mears demonstrates how to compact a bike

At Bikes for the World, scouts complete their Eagle projects by organizing and running bikes collections for us. Scouts are responsible for managing a dynamic, unpredictable public event, publicity, and training and overseeing a volunteer workforce.

Many scouts cite time as the biggest obstacle in completing the project. They are often juggling school, activities, and other personal commitments while planning and organizing this event. Reaching out to reporters and recruiting volunteers have also been struggles for some scouts.

John Finn with donor Kyrksten

But mostly, scouts love working with Bikes for the World. We provide a service project in line with the guidelines laid out in the Eagle Scout project workbook. With a little bit work it's quite easy to hold a successful bike collection and the volunteer work breaking down bikes is a lot of fun.

Kyrksten (left) came out with his mom during a collection at St. Mary's in Rockville. She wanted him to be part of this Eagle project to hopefully inspire him to follow in John's footsteps. John took the time to work with Kyrksten personally as he helped prepare his own bike for shipping and even loaded it onto Nick's pickup.

John came to us after working as a volunteer for another Eagle project. He enjoyed it so much when it came time for his project he also picked BfW.

"Those bikes will go to people who will use them more than we do in their every day lives, like for school or work. I feel like I am making a difference to less fortunate people who deserve it," John Finn BSA troop 472.

Patrick Franz troop 945

 Becoming an Eagle Scout is often impressed on the next generation. To the right is a photo of three generations of Eagle Scouts (or soon to be). Far right is Patrick Franz of troop 945 with his dad (far left) and his grandfather in the middle.

Patrick completed his Eagle project with Bikes for the World in November 2013. With the help of All American Bicycle Center in Damascus, who helped reach donors via social media, Patrick collected over 150 bikes in one day.

Patrick actually started planning this collection last summer, but as mentioned earlier, struggled with time restraints. He decided to postpone an earlier scheduled collection to make sure he had time to devote to doing it right. And did he ever, collecting more bikes than almost all of our collections last year. Only Otterbein United Methodist in Hagerstown collected more and they've been doing this for more than a decade.

Eagle Scout Senthil Kannan troop 1983

Bikes for the World has worked with 63 scouts over the years working on their Eagle projects. Several of them have even done multiple collections with us.

Senthil Kannan of troop 1983 did a collection for us at REI in the fall of 2012. He was awarded the Eagle rank in 2013. Members of his troop have joined us individually to help us load bikes at our warehouse in 2013. Working with BfW is a bit infectious. It's part fun and part being able to reach across the globe and make an impact you can really see.

We at BfW are very proud to work with these young men and continue to be impressed with their success. Over the years our Eagle projects have brought in over 5,500 bikes and earned $45,000 in donations. These guys are making a huge impact in our program and an even bigger impact in the lives of people they've never met.

Featured Volunteer: One Planet, One People, One Message

St Mary of Sorrows

This month Bikes for the World recognizes the effort of a congregation of volunteers for their dedication and hard work over the past two decades. St. Mary of Sorrows out of Fairfax has collected 2,183 bikes over the years and enlisted the help from countless volunteers, young and old.

It all began back in 1997 when a woman by the name of Muriel Grim approached Linda Hansen with an idea. Muriel, an environmentalist, enlisted the help of Linda, a cycling enthusiast, to collect bikes for a local recycling group known then as Pedals for Progress. They met with Keith Oberg, now Director of Bikes for the World, and the St. Mary of Sorrows annual bike collection was born.

"We sat on a truck bed discussing the concept of bicycle recycling, how a bike collection could be run, etc. They loved it and went off and organized a spring collection. I went with a 24' Budget truck and they filled it- with 265 bikes!!! We were blown away," recalls Oberg.

Linda, Brian, Earl, Jackie

What was unique about this collection right from the start was the reach across denominations. St. Mary's collection was not ONE church merely collecting bikes for an organization. Linda Hansen reached out to the faith community in the area and invited everyone to join hands in this global effort.

Over the years St. Mary of Sorrows has worked with Burke Presbyterian, Accotink Unitarian Universalist, Lord of Life Lutheran, and St. George's Methodist. The efforts of these faith communities coming together for one common cause made life simpler for Bikes for the World. Instead of five or six smaller collections spread across the county, this one combined collection point made for a more rewarding community service project and made it much simpler logistically for BfW. St. Peter's in the Woods does have one smaller collection point the same day, but it's right around the corner making for an easy pick up point.

Brian Keith and Earl Smith

After a 15 year run, Linda handed the reins over to Jackie Colonna who now manages the collection for Bikes for the World. Linda still remains heavily involved with the collection, however.

The transition was seamless not only because Jackie had been working on the collection for several years but because key volunteers like Brian Keith and Earl Smith have been working side by side with Linda from the early years.

"If Linda and Jackie are the cogs in this well oiled machine, Brian and Earl are the muscle behind it. From what I could see they 'own' the physical part of the collection and really get the job done. By outsmarting stuck pedals, mentoring youth and newer volunteers, and removing locks with the biggest bolt cutters I've ever seen," Yvette Hess, BfW Outreach Coordinator

Jackie has also taken on the responsibility of requesting tithing funds (with Brian's help) on behalf of Bikes for the World.  St. Mary's has a very large Parish Life and active Social Ministry. Securing space for any one event begins early in the year and you can find something going on on site almost every weekend. Likewise, financial donations range from housing projects, to feeding the hungry, or providing medical assistance to those in needs.

It truly is the work of all groups involved that keeps this drive so successful. But Linda says it best when she credits what's behind the effort. The mission of St. Mary's is ultimately to spread the word of the Gospel whether that be by word, or in this case by bike. She says the bike is a gift. Everyone involved is Spirit driven. We are driven to make this happen. It is the work of God, Linda Hansen.

A True Community Service Project

Ann Jackson and Friends

Ann Jackson has been collecting bikes for a year or two or ten, we've almost lost count. Jackson, an avid cyclist, hosts a Bikes for the World bike collection every year or two at local Severna Park bike shop, and BfW shop partner, Pedal Pushers.

Ann Jackson

Over the years, the Ann Jackson and Friends bike collections have collected over 500 bikes for individuals in need across the globe.

“I just like what they do to help the people overseas. A lot of people have bicycles they don’t use and this keeps them out of a landfill. I think it’s a good thing to do," Ann Jackson

Peter Berty removes pedals at collection

Ann Jackson and Friends could almost just as easily be changed to and Family. Jackson enlists the help of her siblings and in-laws to make this collection spin. Unfortunately, married names throw off the accuracy of The Jackson Five as a collection sponsor name.

You may have seen this guy to the right as far away as Falls Church Virginia, which ironically hosted their recycling event the same day this year. Peter and Ellen Berty, brother-in-law and sister to Ann, are also long time Bikes for the World volunteers, helping at collections, events, and even behind the scenes.

 But what really makes this collection successful is the support of the community as a whole. Rod Reddish, owner of Pedal Pushers has been sharing space with Jackson to help promote this collection over the years. His location, right next to the B&A multi-use trail is a great place to spread the word about Bikes for the World. Pedal Pushers is a long time supporter of Bikes for the World.

When asked if the collection boosts sales at all, Reddish replied, "It's not about making money, it's about getting people a ride." Whether it's getting
someone an upgraded bike and out on the neighborhood trail or donating a bike to someone in need overseas, this is a great program.

The manager of The Big Bean, the coffee shop a few doors down, agrees. The Big Bean often supports the community by offering free cups of coffee for local events. They donated coupons to anyone who donated a bike at the Ann Jackson and Friends collection.

And it's not just family helping at the collection itself either. This community service project embraces the community. Whether it's a young person from an environmental group, an employee of the bike shop, or one time a bike donor who wanted to stay and help...there's a wrench for everyone!

Several donors this past weekend even saw the collection advertised on a neighborhood listserv...that Jackson knew nothing about. Some saw the banner in front of Pedal Pushers. Others picked up a card at The Big Bean.In the end Ann Jackson and Friends collected and processed 84 bikes to kick off our fall season. Many of these bikes will likely go out in the next shipment being loaded September 14 and 15 and arriving in Mozambique several months from now.

Featured Volunteers: Our Superheroes

George Tyler and Hellen Gelband, BfW board members

Bikes for the World boasts an active and passionate volunteer base, and that doesn't stop at the Board. Some non-profits have board members who aren't overly active in the organization. That couldn't be further from the truth at BfW!

Behind the scenes they've got a ton going on from committees, documentation, interviewing, you name it. But come out to a collection, loading, or event and you might find a board member driving a truck, handing out literature, or wrestling a rusty pedal off a 2013 DICK'S donation...Karen Hendrixson!

Calvert County 2008

Board member Ted Haynie brought us this massive effort in 2008 where the Calvert County school system banded together and did a gigantic collection AND loading on the same day. And if you look closely at the picture you'll see two other board standouts...George Tyler and Hellen Gelband.

George and Hellen were on the steering committee before we formed an official Board. We can't honestly say how many years they've been at this, but let's just say it's longer than Bikes for the World! Hellen joined the bike collecting effort back when it was Pedals for Progress and she was instantly hooked. Her first collection was at Hudson Trail Outfitters in Rockville with another BfW veteran running the show, Zoltan Nagy, from Carroll Creek Rotary fame.

Takoma Park Alternative Gift Fair

Hellen and George are pretty much 'fixtures' at the Alternative Gift Fair in Takoma Park, representing BfW. They've also been spotted at the big Green Fest in downtown DC.

George is our Treasurer, which is a natural fit given his background. George worked on Capitol Hill with Senators Hubert Humphrey and Lloyd Bentsen, and as Senior Economist on the Joint Economic Committee before being appointed by President Clinton as a Treasury deputy assistant secretary.

And just for the record, he is our newest budding author! George recently finished his first book, which is already receiving rave reviews. You can look for it on Amazon: What Went Wrong: How the 1% Hijacked the American Middle Class...And What Other Countries Got Right. Preorder your copy today; it's coming out this July.

Hellen in Kenya with Prisca Oluoch of Wheels of Africa

Hellen is one of the few people in BfW who has actually seen the work we do internationally on the ground. Through work, she has traveled to Kenya many times and met with the director of one of our newest partners Wheels of Africa.

Both Hellen and George worked tirelessly (pun unintentional) on another international mission outside the biking community. Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) was started a decade ago in connection with Doctors Without Borders. In short, this organization works to make things better for doctors in the field by concentrating on certain parasitic diseases that are often neglected by drug companies. Seriously, check out that link above, what Hellen and George have done for BfW is nothing short of amazing, but the work with DNDi is most definitely saving lives.

At Takoma Park Middle School

Back at BfW, these guys could fill a scrapbook of bike collections over the years. They've been to Maryland, Virginia, DC. They have loaded containers at every warehouse we've ever had. They've written receipts, mentored youth, spun off a pedal, or two, or a thousand. They have seen that our audits were completed, and our annual reports edited. Basically they keep Keith, and the rest of us in line and on track.

Through sweltering temps, heavy rains, and an occasional blizzard you can find this dynamic duo wielding a pedal wrench or piloting a 26 foot Penske truck through the city. This spring they have been out working with BfW almost every other weekend. We know you're not asking us WHY we chose to feature them, but rather WHY IT'S TAKEN US SO LONG!

Thank you George and Hellen !

Featured Volunteer: Otterbein UM Church Collects Another 200 Bikes

2,230 bicycles and 78 sewing machines

That's more bikes than we've shipped to over half of our overseas partners! That's almost five containers of bikes donated. For the projects we support more frequently like Village Bicycle Project or Goodwill Panama, that's an entire year's worth of bicycles we would donate to them. From ONE church...Otterbein United Methodist Church. Otterbein sets the bar high...then they compact it for shipping!

Otterbein United Methodist is located in Hagerstown Maryland and they have been partnered with Bikes for the World since we started in 2005. The last weekend in April for the past decade they have had an annual bike drive with BfW. But do the math: 2,000 divided by 10 is still 200. That means every collection Otterbein has been accepting, processing, and loading about 200 bikes EVERY single year, religiously. Pun intended.

Some years see more bikes than others. Last year they didn't quite break 200. One year they got 400 bikes.  In 2013 with a last minute addition of a few bikes in Greencastle PA they will definitely meet their 200 goal and then some.

How, you ask? It's not because they are way out in Hagerstown away from any other bike collections, although it may help a little. Otterbein has been committed to this effort since the start and Cindy Brown, Director of Programs has been promoting it heavily ever since.

She cites the regularity of the collection, the same weekend every year, as part of the reason for their success. She's actually scheduled Otterbein collections through 2016! And they work with other groups like police departments and recycling centers to divert bikes to their annual collection rather than landfills.

Courtesy Cindy Brown

They also gets the word out through media outlets, flyers, emails...And as you can see occasionally they reinvent the wheel. This big bike is parked at various locations around town leading up to the big event. You can't miss it! Cindy has been exploring new options with social media. This group doesn't sit still! They are changing with the times and always looking for something new. This year they gave out notepads with the BfW logo on the back to all donors. And she always follows up with a thank you message.

What we saw at this collection was a community coming together to serve one common good. At Bikes for the World we are proud to be this bridge that allows all walks of life to come together in one community or church parking lot, as the case may be, to offer a valuable service to its community (recycling) that in turns offers another (affordable transportation) to another oceans away. And the bi-product at both ends appears to be lives changed.  That's a great days work!

From Cindy Brown:

 There are several reasons we continue to give to this effort. First - the stability of Bikes for the World reaches across local and global partnerships to address real human needs. Stories shared by recipients of bicycles are often astounding. Second - it is "recycling" at it's best! Our efforts provide a place other than an attic or the local landfill for these bikes to gather dust and rust; processing the bikes means the family, and medical care workers will be more accessible. Bicycling in America is predominantly recreational. For those whom we serve, the gift of a bike means survival and dignity.

Not only does our partnership with Bikes for the World extend to global projects, it creates a unique local opportunity for service and outreach. For Otterbein, it is one of many "parking lot" ministries offered throughout the year. Outreach on our lot brings together church neighborhood and members. This year's 37 bike collection volunteers included grandparents and grandchildren working side by side, neighbors with known history of conviction and incarceration, Eagle scouts, members of the church and their friends. This is a typcial cross-section whether we are worshiping together, conducting a program on the parking lot, or collaborating with other community agencies and resources. Our "official" mission statement is:

To be the body of Christ on this corner, serving and influencing the neighborhood and the larger community with the grace and power of God.

We value and enjoy the partnership with Bikes for the World which enables us to live out our mission and purpose.

 

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