We're Getting A Face Lift!

Yes, we have been promising this for a long time, but it's almost here. In fact you should visit the old site one last time in case you want to say goodbye.

www.bikesfortheworld.org

By this time next week we feel confident in saying THE NEW long awaited website WILL BE LAUNCHED!

 

So what's NEW? Where do we start? Above you can see what the new home page will look like. We heard you wanted more pictures, so we are giving you photos right off the bat! Looks like the top of our blog, right? Exactly. Except on the website, these pictures (#1 above) will actually slide open when you hover over them. And if you click on them they will open a landing page inviting you to come even further into this new and improved website.

This is just another way to start your journey into our new website. We will still have a navigation bar at the top of the page, but with even more options! Once you hover over one of these boxes (#2 above) a drop down menu will open with even more boxes below, all leading to a unique related page.

But wait, the Collection Schedule button at the top is missing! No worries, it's still right there under Donate A Bike. And if you miss the button on the top just click on Donate A Bike...TADA, right there is your collection schedule as easy as you found it before.

Many of the same pages will appear on this new site, but more organized and with a better Bikes for the World look. We hope if you are looking to volunteer or organize your own collection you'll quickly and easily find what you need to get started. And all along the way to be exact. At the bottom of the Organize A Collection tab you will find Resources that will help you prepare for your collection.

And under Who We Benefit you'll find great information on where your bikes end up.Under International Partners are programs are highlighted and under Success Stories actual beneficiaries tell you how your old bike changed their lives. This is a great place to help tell YOUR story. So when you contact a reporter who wants to cover your collection, you can point them right to this tab on our website for actual stories from overseas.

Back on the Home Page...the bottom of the page has a map showing where we have shipped our bikes over the past eight years. If you click on it you will be directed to an interactive Google map that also highlights our global partners.

If you aren't already following us on Social Media, look at the top of our site (#3 above) It's super easy to start! We have quick informative updates on facebook and twitter. Have you seen our photo albums on Picasa? Videos on YouTube? I can tell you already read our blog! Check out the Share Bar (#4 above) on the left of the site. This will follow you no matter where you go. And if you see something you like: SHARE IT! Tell your friends about us, invite them to join us!

And last, but certainly not least...the right side of the home page. First, a bike counter letting you know how many bikes we've shipped to date. Under that you'll find our latest News & Events. Find out about loadings, collections, events, what's new on the blog...right here on our new home page. And if you want updates in your inbox, we've got that too! Just sign up to receive our newsletter and you'll get a quick synopsis monthly.

So there you go....your introduction to the new and improved website. Due out any day now. We'll give you a head's up on facebook when we launch or you can keep checking to see when we hit the switch. But I promise you, we are hours away...

And we couldn't have done it without our amazing web team Confluence, who made all the pretty stuff happen.

Bike To School

Bike Train USA Photo Courtesy Bruce Buckley                                                                                              

At Bikes for the World we are in the practice of showing you where in the world your bike ends up. But we all know where it came from is just as important. Many of our donated bikes come to us with a lifetime of memories. A bike that ends up in rural Africa helping a banana farmer or one that is keeping a young Filipino in school once spun around our suburban neighborhoods perhaps in Northern Virginia or Western Maryland.

Every bike has a story. In fact here's a local story about school students using their bikes to get to school right here in Virginia. Wolfie's Bike Train began in 2011 under the supervision of Jeff Anderson, cyclist and Dad of three. Once a month this Bike Train leaves their neighborhood collecting kids along the way and safely delivering them to school via their own pedal power.

Students at Colvin Run Elementary

Besides loving the commute to school these young cyclists are giving a fresh, energetic voice to the true power of the bicycle. And for them it's not just about riding.

Bikes for the World frequently partners with area schools and youth groups who lead and manage many of our bike collections and help load bikes to be shipped overseas. It is beyond inspirational to basically see kids helping kids get to school on the other side of the world.

It is a unique experience for these kids to do something in their own backyard that has such a global impact. Meanwhile, on the backside of the globe, students of the same age are receiving, sometimes, their very first bikes through the generosity of these students in the DC area. This is a Bike Train that spans the ocean!

Schools often use this Bikes for the World experience in tandem with various lesson plans to bring the culture of another country into the classroom as well as teaching the value of community service and the importance of recycling. It's truly a win, win, win.

"I'm so glad we have you as a partner. It is such a great learning experience for the kids. They thoroughly got into it and to helping others in far off lands." Marlene Guroff, Colvin Run Counselor.

 "We felt so good about our collection, and the kids came through in spades to help out!  Those who went to the bike shop to learn the process were great mentors to the others, and they actually enjoyed the process of breaking down the bikes.  We had several girls who learned to wield a wrench with the best of the boys!!!" Becky Copenhaver, Cape Fear Academy NC

"We only have one planet. We can't spoil it." Joshua Spokes, Student Collection Manager

To learn more about how your school or youth group can get involved visit Bikes for the World and check out this video highlighting school involvement.

Eagle Scout Leaders

While most of BfW was tucked away in the DC Convention Center this past weekend enjoying Greenfest, at least one local collection was still in full swing. Alex Tatem chose BfW as his Eagle scout leadership project and the location was his place of employment BfW partner, City Bikes in Chevy Chase. 

Alex Tatem: "My position is sales which I love because I am on the front line sharing my passion of riding with a huge range of different types of bikers. There is nothing better than helping someone find their perfect bike and getting them out on the roads…. or trails."

Courtesy Alex Tatem

This was a three-way partnership that proved to be a huge success with Alex netting about 90 bikes. Unlike most scouts, Alex even orchestrated the delivery of the bikes to BfW's storage site at King Farm in Rockville.

Alex Tatem: "The great part about the collection was before it even started I had about 25 bikes. This was very useful because right when the volunteers arrived they could start working. Having my volunteers constantly busy really moved the collection on smoothly and helped when all the other bikes started to flow in a lot faster. I had the trailers and vans open in the parking lot. I had people constantly loading the vans and trailers the whole time and had someone at the trailers approving the bikes before they were put in."

We at BfW couldn't ask for anything more! Every weekend BfW partners with community organizations from schools, faith groups, government organizations, bikes shops...We have literally hundreds of partners throughout the year who make our collections a huge success.

Nick Bielamowicz troop 1916 Eagle project

One we are particularly proud of is Eagle scouts. The term 'Eagle scout' is most synonymous with 'leadership' and BfW is a perfect choice for an Eagle scout project.Over the last eight years BfW has helped over 60 scouts earn the distinction of Eagle scout.

What we demand at Bikes for the World in managing a collection perfectly matches the requirements laid out in the Eagle Scout service project workbook. Some of those criteria are managing a dynamic, unpredictable public event, publicity, and training and overseeing a volunteer workforce, Keith Oberg Director Bikes for the World.

Chris Richards Eagle project troop 167

BfW worked with Chris Richards in 2005 with his Eagle scout project. Chris collected 63 bikes at the REI in Baileys Crossroads. Those bikes were included in a one time shipment to Haiti. Richards went on to Dickinson College and is now the Digital Marketing Strategist for Fanpage Toolkit.

Chris Richards, Eagle scout and former BfW collection manager: "The collection was a great project because it put me in a position to coordinate and lead a very hands on event. I remember feeling overwhelmed by some of the planning at the time, but in reality, it was great preparation for the amount of planning some work required in college and beyond in the work force. Additionally, it sparked my interest in efforts to behave in a more sustainable manner. Eventually, during school at Dickinson College, I became very involved in their campus sustainability programs, helping to educate the student body on what the school was doing to be "greener." Looking back, the time coordinating work with Bikes for the World probably implanted that desire in me to see things put to good use through recycling and reusing."

Thomas Tribble troop 1983

 BfW most recently worked with Senthil Kannan and Thomas Tribble both of troop 1983, Nick Bielamowicz troop 1916, and Alex Tatum troop 255. Between the four scouts, the young men collected 335 bikes that will be sent overseas and change many lives.

All the scouts agreed that it was a rewarding service project and had fun completing it. Senthil tells BfW that it was pretty easy (see the video below).

More from Richards:
"...many Eagle projects seem to emphasize several days of physical work, this one was unique in that I was able to complete much of the work on that one day at REI, while the work leading up to it, and hours of planning were equally as valuable and certainly important. In that sense, I think the collection better prepared me for college and professional life than the usual trail cleaning or what have you, as most things are not physical, but organizational in nature once you move past the days of scouts."

Senthil Kannan, troop 1983, completed his Eagle scout project with BfW in 2012 at the REI in Fairfax: