Steering Us In The Right Direction: Rich Robinson

Rich Robinson and Keith Oberg

Bikes for the World is proud to welcome Rich Robinson to our esteemed board. And although we honored Rich back in 2010 as our volunteer of the year, it seems fitting to honor him again as our Featured Volunteer of December.

Rich began working with Bikes for the World in 2007, following his retirement from federal service as a counsel (lawyer) for the Veteran's Administration. Rich has played a central role in our expansion, a constant presence at loadings and collections.

In searching for photos of Rich for this honor we found many of him lying in front of a group of hard working volunteers. We are certain this is just a trademark pose after a loading, but it's also, no doubt, a well deserved rest in our opinion.

Rich is one of the 'select few' veterans physically capable of handling the infamous, read: strenuous, "third levels" of bike loading. Any time of year, any warehouse location...you are likely to find Rich in his old tattered Bikes for the World t-shirt either throwing bikes or mentoring youth volunteers. He is truly irreplaceable.

Rich has been the lead on several loadings and has not only orchestrated activities inside 'the can' but also in the warehouse. He has lent his patience and skill to work with new volunteer crews during sometimes hectic loadings. He has also taken the time to stop and work one-on-one with individuals struggling with a menacing bike part.

He has worked with scouts on their Eagle projects and new collection managers unsure of the process of 'prepping' bikes at an event. You can often find him at one of our most successful collections, spring or fall, in Arlington, at the annual recycling event ECARE. He might be helping a donor, spinning a wrench, or driving a truck...guaranteed he's got a smile on his face.

When Rich isn't onsite steering BfW in the right direction, you might find him navigating the streets of DC in his Previa van. He regularly picks up bikes at The Bike Rack on Q Street as well as other businesses and apartment buildings as needed.

Building on his familiarity with and enthusiasm for our operations and mission, Rich is transitioning to making an even more valuable contribution to our institutional growth. Over the winter in 2012-13, he and wife Sue led our new board of directors and staff through a first-time strategic planning process. The result was the recent adoption of an ambitious strategic plan outlined with an action plan prepared by staff members. Joining the board is a logical step in pushing this process forward and helping us grow. Welcome aboard Rich!

Rich is an accomplished bike mechanic, maintaining and modifying an ample fleet of personal bikes. He is a long-time recreational cyclist, most recently completing tours with wife Sue and friends in Spain, Sardinia, and Turkey. Given Rich's familiarity with BfW, bikes, and international cycling (not to mention his recent study of Spanish), Bikes for the World would love to get him to tours in Central America, Africa, or the Philippines--to visit our partner programs!!
PS...send pictures.

Impact! They Make One

Stone Ridge Social Action BfW Crew

Our very own Stone Ridge for Social Action crew was recently nominated for Montgomery County's Youth Service Award. We know because WE nominated them. The Stone Ridge crew is: Lisa Adam, Allison Arinaga, Ellie Blakeslee, Allie Delgado, Deborah O'Connell, Andie Segura, and advisor Ken Woodard. They didn't win, but we still think they're tops. We bring you excerpts from the nomination letter for a look into why:

Stone Ridge Sacred Heart School of Bethesda has incorporated into their curriculum a program that transports their students' impact from the classroom to remote villages across the globe. The Social Action group meets several times a month and works with several non-profits in the county helping mentor young people and socializing with elders.

"The Social Action Mission Statement is rooted in Goal Three of Sacred Heart Education. The Social Action Program is a comprehensive service-learning program that is central to the Upper School experience. Through preparation, action, and reflection, Social Action cultivates critical consciousness of issues of justice, inculcates a life-long commitment to service, and develops students’ potential for leadership in building and maintaining just partnerships."

Bikes for the World partnered with Stone Ridge in 2011, working with two young women who found the experience to be rewarding AND fun. Because of the popularity of the program, the participants tripled this past year.

Starting last fall the girls started coming out twice a month to help load containers of 500+ bikes that will eventually end up in Africa, Central America, or the Philippines. During one such loading that was recently delivered to a Bikes for Education program in Maribojoc, Bohol, Philippines, I saw two of the girls jump up and volunteer to do the hardest job of the loading. We call this the 'third level'. After lining up two rows of bikes on top of each other, we finish the line with a final third row. The bikes on this level are 'tossed' on top of the standing bicycles and requires a certain amount of strength and finesse. They let the men hand them the bikes without so much as blinking.

Yvette and Mya at Woodlin Elementary Collection

For our younger volunteers I've seen the Bikes for the World experience change kids. They tend to like the grease and the tools and forget that what they are doing is 'work'. I've seen shy kids open up once they are taught how to use a pedal wrench. Girls jump right in once they realize it's not 'just for boys'. It's a 'doing' activity that reaches kids who are sometimes left out because they aren't 'athletic enough' or don't care for what is known as 'ball' activities. What I've seen this volunteer experience do here and overseas is give kids confidence where they once had little or none.

The importance of having this group of girls tackling this sometimes greasy job AND taking on some of the more strenuous activities opens up the door to some of our other female volunteers showing them they too, can do this. I often find young girls and even some soccer moms tentative about volunteering with us, thinking they can't do it. Once they see they can, and find out how much fun it is, they often turn out to be some of our hardest workers.

-Yvette Hess, Outreach Coordinator

This crew ranges from the budding actress to calculating engineer. Most of the girls are seniors and have already chosen colleges to move onto next fall. The Stone Ridge girls are making a difference globally and enjoy seeing the difference they are making overseas. What they may not fully realize is the impact they are having right here at home instilling confidence in other women who will continue to do this work with us even after their class graduates and moves on to college.

You can donate a bike at Stone Ridge May 5th see our website for details.