This month's Featured Volunteer was a little delayed by design. We want to honor Potomac School Summer even though we are now technically in Fall. And the reason for the delay is we wanted to definitively state that this volunteer group joined us on the HOTTEST day of the year! It was one of those weather alert days this past July when the temperat...
Bikes for the World donates bike number 200,000! The highly anticipated day finally arrived. Last month, alongside some very important members of the Bikes for the World family, we hoisted the 200,000th bike donated into a container heading to MiBici Costa Rica. We expected this to happen this fall, but to have it occur before the end of summer was...
Anna found us when her school came to the warehouse for a service project connected with MLK Day last January. As a Sophomore she has plenty of time to complete her required 60 hours before graduation, but as a student athlete, you often have to focus on the summer to grab some hours. When Anna started thinking about where she wanted to volunt...
As Bikes for the World prepares to celebrate 20 years we took a look back over the last 10 years to see how we've grown and where we hope to be heading. In the fall of 2014 we donated our 100,000th bike during our 10 year celebration. We expect to donate our 200,000th bike THIS month, and the timing in relation to our 20 year party, is delayed and ...
Here in the DC region when attending a local performance, whether it's an outdoor summer concert series or community theatre production, one often finds themselves wondering where do these performers spend their day jobs? Is the lead actor a lobbyist on the Hill or is the guy shredding on guitar actually a specialized heart surgeon? It's ...
Bikes for the World is deliberate in choosing our partners to ensure that every project we support aligns with our mission. Many of our sustaining partners have been with us for a decade, some have been partners since we began in 2005. We have many criteria in choosing a partner and our relationship and their success are evaluated annually to ensur...
Theme for our next fundraising gala or the title of our first country song? Whichever you choose, Bikes for the World was collectively singing the blues this weekend and 'chassis shoes' and 'high cubes' were at the root of the problem. The past few years we have had our fair share of shipping related issues, mostly in the form of scheduling. ...
Ngalula found us through the Montgomery County Volunteer Center. We'd say she was lucky to find us there because we don't often have spots available to post on their website BUT let's be honest...we are definitely the ones that are lucky to have found her! Ngalula came out to start the year with us during our MLK Day event in January...a holiday Mo...
"It's a good thing to see a workshop in a community." Elias knows firsthand the benefit a small business can have in a rural neighborhood. He runs a small bike repair workshop that is supported through the larger organization CESTA in El Salvador. In El Salvador over 95% of all businesses are small or micro-entreprises. These businesses ...
One question we are asked a lot when it comes to volunteering, is how old do you need to be to volunteer at Bikes for the World. Yvette is quick to answer, Four...and she is only half kidding. We typically ask if kids are younger than 14 they come with a parent, but even that is negotiable. Which brings us to this month's Featured Volunteer: ...
Tendoma, a community in Ghana receives 40 bikes earlier this year. By partnering with groups like Village Bicycle Project, Bikes for the World maximizes the impact your old bicycles can bring to an African country. BfW has been working with VBP in Ghana since 2005 and Sierra Leone since 2012. Between the two projects, we have donated over 30,000 bi...
Bob and Cindy Teach volunteer with the crew up at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Hagerstown. The outreach ministry at Otterbein is quite active so many activities keep this couple busy throughout the year. But bikes definitely keep Bob moving! We have partnered with Otterbein UM since we formed as BfW in 2005. That makes this year their 20th ...
Our last shipment we loaded for Rwanda is finally on its way to our partner Learn, Work, Develop where it will help fund and support young women and children. This container was loaded during Women's History Month and we are proud to say it will benefit women who are making history today. It all started with the women of Stone Ridge who helped us i...
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. At Bikes for the World women's equality is not something that needs to be imagined it is a force to be harnessed. Last month we celebrated Women's History Mon...
Buzz Mackintosh isn't technically a Bikes for the World volunteer. Nor is he a Carroll Creek Rotarian. Buzz Mackintosh sounds like a name destined for Space. Fittingly, Buzz Mackintosh goes above and beyond for both organizations and is therefore an honorary member of both! Rotarian Dick Foot sums it up like this, "One needn't be wielding a pedal w...
We at Bikes for the World were incredibly sad to learn we lost Dr. George Kurz at the end of 2023. But we were blessed to have his support over the years and to call him a friend. George Kurz studied ophthalmology and subsequently became the Director of Ophthalmology at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, NJ at the beginning of his practi...
When we look back over everything we accomplished in 2023 we know we have you to thank for helping us meet our goals. We've made great efforts to improve and grow our program and we couldn't have done it without our volunteers and your support. You can view our full Snapshot report here and take a look at what made our top ten list of 2023 of what ...
Above are some of the founding members of Katsi, a co-op formed by Fundacion Integral Campesina (FINCA), a nonprofit group that works with Bikes for the World in Costa Rica. FINCA empowers rural communities to form collective banks with small amounts of capital, which members can then borrow to start a business or grow an existing one. By working w...
You are reading and seeing this now because of Greg.This month we are featuring our web guru Greg Correll. Although he's not technically a volunteer he is a vital component of our volunteer outreach and management. Greg is also the guy you don't ever see at BfW but you interact with his work every time you visit the website. Greg is with an amazing...
In 2023 Bikes for the World added a new Malagasy community to our bike family with a first container to a co-op known as Ambanja. We first partnered with this health focused program in 2015 and the communities requesting bikes continues to grow. They have trained mechanics and converted shipping containers into rural bike shops to help repair...
Ten years ago Bikes for the World sent our first bicycle to Madagascar. It was in connection with a health focused project established by USAID. Rural health clinics received brand new bicycles through the USAID funded project. In order to maintain those bicycles, shipping containers were converted into rural bike shops, known as eBoxes, in four co...
David Leavens finally has their time in the sun. They have worked alongside us the past couple years and it is long over due that we shine the spotlight on them. David Leavens answers to the pronoun THEY, not because that's the pronoun they choose; David Leavens isn't a person, it's a family team! Judy, Ivan, and Doug make up David-Leavens and they...
Dear Friend of Bikes for the World: In Ghana and Sierra Leone a bike means expanded access to education, healthcare and employment. Our longtime partner Village Bicycle Project places donated bikes with schools and community organizations that distribute them to the most vulnerable students. We have been busier than ever in 2023 ensuring that stude...
A bicycle is designed as a vehicle to move you forward faster. No one knows this better than Isata, Rebecca, and now Aminata and Jeminatu. All four of these women run their own bike shops in Sierra Leone. In fact, Isata was the first female bike mechanic in Sierra Leone...that was about five years ago. Today more women are joining the ranks. A...
This particular post has 'gone to the dogs'. And we mean literally. There is absolutely nothing bad or wrong here, we just realize this has very little to do with bikes and everything to do with dogs! Some might call this our auxiliary mission. At the beginning of this year Bikes for the World implemented our first ever Foster Shop Dog program. Tha...
Maika Walker is the Director of Social Justice at The Academy of the Holy Cross. We chose to feature Maika (in the Nats hat) in honor of all the school faculty we work with throughout the year to set up volunteer sessions for students. We often never even meet these individuals, but we work with them regularly and the impact they have on our p...
Continuing along our journey in northern Costa Rica, meet Alicia and Ricardo. They live in the community of El Abanico, located very close to the Arenal Volcano. Alicia ad Ricardo are both farmers, but they also manage the bike project for their Empresa de Credito (EC) ECs are autonomous credit companies, which aim to enhance the development of com...
Aurora. Isabel. Helen. Meet the women of La Trinchera de Pital. All three of these women are members of the La Trinchera de Pital Empresa de Credito (EC). ECs are autonomous credit companies, which aim to enhance the development of communities and individuals. The focus of each of the ECs is to support the development of entrepreneurs in their comm...
Bill Schenkel is a member of the St. Paul Knights of Columbus Council #11105 in Damascus. Bill participates in many of the KoC activities from gardening, Easter egg hunt prep, and singing in the choir. Bill has also been a regular at our annual bike colllection in the nook of Routes of 108 and 124. This crew in Damascus has been helping us improve ...
John Sissala is exactly the type of Collection Manager we love to have running an event. He has been a fixture at the Potomac United Methodist Church event since Bikes for the World formed back in 2005. Last year PUMC surpassed our 1,000 bike benchmark, but not under John's leadership. And this is exactly what we mean about the perfect manage...
Harrison Morson was hands down one of the top supporters of Bikes for the World. His connections to Bikes for the World go deep. He was a member of the Glenwood Lions Club. Through the Lions' activity he also worked with us through Bushy Park Elementary and Glenwood Middle School. He was instrumental in getting the wheels turning at Alpha Ridge Lan...
"David's Here!" It's a proclamation shouted out whenever David enters the warehouse. It's a bit like "Norm" from Cheers, except David's not the type of guy who just sits at a bar drinking beer all day. In fact, he's the exact opposite of Norm Peterson. David Horn wandered into the warehouse sometime last year and he's been hanging around ever since...
One of the surprise highlights of Taylor's visit to Village Bicycle Project in Ghana was a visit to the Ghana Olympic Committee and Ghana Cycling Federation. Two days prior, while visiting a technical high school in Accra that had received 40 bikes from VBP earlier in 2023, one of the educators at the school broached the topic of integrating techni...
Bikes provide access to education by allowing students to stay in school rather than dropping out. As students move through the education system, there are often less options for secondary schools, forcing many students into longer commutes and possibly less areas of studies. Longer commutes translate into less energy in the classroom and less time...
Meet the members of the Antsohihy Mandroso (KOPAMA) bike co-op (e-Box). This group was established in 2014 when the idea of using bikes as incentives for volunteer health workers was imagined by USAID/Transaid. At the time, Transaid introduced a program aimed at delivering preventative health care to remote regions of Madagascar, basically all of N...
We LOVE our families that volunteer TOGETHER! Meet the Slades. Alix, Ben, Rose (not pictured above), Philip, and Daniel. What's that? They look familiar? Well, yeah, they should! Ben (dad) got his start with Keith Oberg back in the beginning. He was the mastermind behind all things computer, and believe us when we say, Keith needed all the hand hol...
Bikes for the World celebrated World Bicycle Day a day early this year in order to give back to our community here at home. We spend so much time and energy delivering bikes across the world EVERY DAY that we decided to focus THIS day on donating bikes to kids in our backyard. This year the 2nd Annual Chocolate City Community Ride took place on Jun...
It's always good to put a face to a name and meeting Richard Musa was definitely one of those moments to celebrate! Before VBP established a significant presence in Lunsar, the base of operations was Freetown and Richard was the main man. He has owned a bike shop in Freetown for over 20 years and has been connected with VBP ever since the organizat...
In rural parts of Sierra Leone access to a bike can make all the difference. This is especially true for kids who often trek long distances to school. Rather than focusing on one specific school, the Bai Bureh Heritage Foundation in Port Loko decided to take a different approach. They knew from community members and teachers that a handful of stude...
Pete and Ellen Berty will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary next year...with Bikes for the World! They are members of a distinct crew that have been around since the official start of BfW. And they have been there through it all with us, they have helped load containers, stuff envelopes, sell t-shirts, fill out receipts, and compact bikes in a ...
Greg Pearson has been popping in and out of the warehouse now for a bunch of years; no one is really sure when he got started. And just the other day we were scratching our heads (him included) trying to remember how he landed here. Turns out it started in a coffee shop and despite what you might think, it doesn't involve Taylor. Greg recalls...
Mechanics from Rockville, USA to Accra, Africa. Online IRL means In Real Life, but this was more like IRT- In Real Time. Last month Executive Director Taylor Jones traveled to Ghana and Sierra Leone to visit our partners, both Village Bicycle Project. While he checked in on the programs, the mechanics, and the beneficiaries he was posting IRT to ou...
When the Stone Ridge Social Action crew came back this school year a few things had changed. The most noteworthy was the team expanded. Rewind the dozen years when the partnership began and we had just Ken Woodard and two students working in a cramped barn in King Farm. Over the years we slowly added a couple girls here and there. And as we expande...
The results are in and the numbers are up. Our Snapshot 2022 is complete and we invite you to take a look at the great work we completed last year; all of it continuing to roll into 2023. Throughout the year we continued to feel the effects of the pandemic but with every month we inched back to 'normal' operation. The biggest difference last year (...
Julien Payen led off our 2023 collection season hosting an event at his elementary school, St. Martin of Tours in Gaithersburg. Julien graduated from elementary school quite a few years ago and was working on his Eagle project with his boy scout troop #926. Julien chose Bikes for the World as his project beneficiary because of the volunteer work he...
Seems like an unlikely pair, but this is what happens when our bikes go to the dogs. These pups were rescued by Granja Alma (Soul Farm) in Costa Rica. As you may know, dogs are expensive and running a dog rescue program is expensive times 20. Dogs are abandoned for many reasons and could wind up at Soul Farm malnourished or injured. Simple feeding ...
We ended 2022 on a sad note, as we said goodbye to three huge champions of the cycling community, the environment, and the Bikes for the World family- Jack Koczela, Ann Jackson, and Art Wittig. Ann Jackson has a deep connection to Bikes for the World and our founder Keith Oberg, their families often exploring vacations together by bike. Ann created...
Last spring we followed the path of one bicycle from a collection point in DC to its new home in Costa Rica. This is the story of how that black Cannondale made an impact from H Street NW to El Roble de Alajuela. Its journey begins with its World Bank family who used the bike for recreation before donating it at a collection held last June. We can'...
Last year Bikes for the World welcomed back many of our veteran collection sites which are all led and staffed by volunteers. Many of these events were put on hold during the pandemic in an effort to keep volunteers and the public safe. The two year hiatus impacted the quality of bikes we collected more than the number since we continued to find ab...
This month our featured volunteer piece highlights two esteemed teens on our team. Meet Emma Colavito seen above with her dad and Ariyeh Schmelzer (not pictured)- two of our top fundraisers of 2022. Between them they raised nearly $3,000 for Bikes for the World while working on personal projects involving bikes and us! Emma approached us around Tha...
Alex Can Tsarouhas became a bit of FIX-ture around the warehouse during 2022. He started coming to Bikes for the World to earn service hours (SSL) for school and racked up quite a few of the with us over the past year. He clearly knew a thing or two about bikes when he came, but now he knows even more! Alex Can participated in our Thursday ni...
Strong women get things done. This is something we know well around Bikes for the World, but if there was any question, just take a look at our most recent shipment currently on its way to Madagascar. From the time the container was dropped off (by a woman!) to the time it is unloaded, sorted, inventoried, and its contents redistributed, the bikes ...
Thom McKinney is one of those hard working volunteers you may never have seen even if you hang out in the Bikes for the World warehouse every day. In fact, he's only been to the warehouse once. BUT he logs volunteer hours almost every single week. Thom volunteers at the I-66 waste transfer station in Fairfax, for Bikes for the World of course...
Donating bikes locally is not something that comes easy for Bikes for the World, at least not in bulk. If you consider the number of bikes we collect and donate a year (12,000) versus the number of full time trained mechanics we have in the warehouse (2) you might get a better idea of why. Also consider how/why bikes are donated to us in the first ...
These two guys go way back. Y'all know our founder, Keith Oberg (right) and on the left is Paul Murphy, veteran collection manager for Herndon Friends Meeting. Keith and Paul met over 25 years ago while repairing a summer camp impacted by the Standardsville flood of '95. They've watched their kids grow up, go to college, and start having kids of th...
Jackie got her start as a bike mechanic through a workshop offered at Cycloville. She originally saw the opportunity as a way to improve her family. She quickly saw the impact she could have on her community. Jackie took part in one of the first training sessions offered by Cycloville seven years ago. It was a small class of three women and on...
Patrick Short, with Boy Scout troop 1916, completed his Eagle Project with Bikes for the World last month collecting bikes that were donated to Burkina Faso, Africa. We were counting on this event to bring us enough bikes to fill a container we had scheduled just 12 days after we loaded a container for Barbados. Since the pandemic upended the shipp...
So much has changed since we introduced you to Richard Dayamba (seen above in red) back in 2018. He was helping unload bikes we had donated to Lumière des Enfants, also known as ALE. It was our second container we had shipped to this project in Burkina Faso. Richard was one of the first volunteers to help work on the new bike project. Then, R...
Many of you who have come to the warehouse to volunteer or donate bikes were curious how we navigated the changing landscape over the past few years. While it's been challenging we've realized a lot of good came out of the process. The team sat down recently and explored some of your questions and we realized the pandemic helped us reorganize our e...
Women and children continue to suffer the most as the earth becomes more harsh and unforgiving. Chronic drought, windstorms, and flash floods are changing the landscape of humanity. Each devastating storm is driving Burkinabe further into poverty and will eventually force them to flee not just looking for a better life, but in an effort to survive....
The cycle of violence in Sahel is only one of the intense challenges the people in Burkina Faso face on a daily basis. For one of the poorest nations in the world resources are scarce and systems are overwhelmed. The conflict in Burkina Faso goes back decades but has intensified over the last seven years. The Sahel is the region in Northern Africa ...
Alex Reichmann was introduced to Bikes for the World at school during CESJDS's Families In Action community service day. As it turns out our warehouse is right across the street from the school and since that initial partnership, we've had many JDS students come join us after school for service hours. We have even hosted CESJDS in the warehous...
Meet Dionne, Marilyn, and Nakeisha, just a few of the small business owners making big waves in Barbados. These three entrepreneurs recently graduated from the Personal and Economic Empowerment for Women (PEEW) program offered through our partner Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW). Building on its overall mission, Pinelands created this intensi...
Riding bikes is a right of passage that one PE teacher wanted to make sure his students had the opportunity to experience. Dwayne Phillips (in hat above) is a physical education teacher at West Terrace Primary School in Barbados. The students he teaches range in age from 5-9 years old. Because of the pandemic, many of them had a challenging start t...
What I Did On My Summer Vacation, By Tom Doyle. We would ask Tom to submit this essay, but as a teacher we know his summer time is precious. It's true what they say, teachers work 10 months a year and then have the summer 'off', but do they really? Some teachers have summer jobs just to make ends meet. Some are busy scheduling things that can...
Building a wheel is a skill that requires a lot of knowledge and patience. It's not for everyone, but if you can master it you could be left with more than just a functioning wheel. Building and truing a wheel can build character, confidence, respect, and trust. Remarkable qualities to build a strong foundation for a business or a reputation. ...
Don't let the photo fool you, Pamela is not buried in bikes; she's in full control. Pamela McCormick is part of the Cumberland Area Bikes for the World...yes there is such a thing! To say it's just an annual collection is an incredible understatement; the Cumberland Area BfW is powered by the Western Maryland Wheelmen, an active, dedicated crew. It...
Stefani de Paz takes great pride in her bike repair business. Stefani grew up watching her dad fix bicycles. She loved watching him work in their shop and had dreams of one day working along side him in the family business. In El Salvador it's unusual for a woman to do this work but it's something she was always interested in doing. When her ...
It's known as "the richest event in one of the world's poorest countries." The Tour de Lunsar is now one of the best-known bicycle races in West Africa, but it had an uphill climb to the podium. The Tour de Lunsar is the creation of Abdul Karim Kamara, who started as a bike shop owner supported by Village Bicycle Project. He then became the in-coun...
Before the pandemic hit, Linda Hansen came to us and said, I don't think we can continue the bike collection at St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax. Linda had been the manager of this event for years before handing it off to another volunteer to manage. And another and another. And even though collections pretty much run themselves- you say, do you have...
Every kid deserves the opportunity to ride a bike. It's this simple statement that drives Smiles 4 Miles. But for kids in marginalized communities the statement, 'as easy as riding a bike' might as well be 'as hard as scaling K2'. BIPOC kids don't always have access to trails, safety equipment, or even bikes. That's where the Smiles 4 Miles Tour co...
Connor is a junior at Bethesda Chevy Chase (B-CC) who reached out to us during the height of the pandemic. He had been tinkering with bikes in the garage when he came across Bikes for the World and loved what we did. It was spring 2021, things were starting to get back to normal, but not really. Still Connor was ready to bust out of the garage. He ...
In Rwanda an old bike transforms the lives of newborns and their moms. Bikes for the World's newest partner, Learn Work and Develop (LWD) uses donated bicycles to support the young people in Rwanda by providing economic, medical and psychosocial support to teens at risk of getting pregnant, are currently pregnant, or recently became ...
Kevin Dolan may not be a face you recognize around the Bikes for the World warehouse but he has been an active champion of our cause for decades. Kevin has been a fixture at Race Pace Bicycles since the 90s and last week as those stores converted to Trek Bicycle shops we said goodbye to Kevin as we picked up our final load at the Owings Mills ...
One of our biggest fundraisers, loudest champions and most diverse volunteers is also currently one of our youngest. Noah Edlavitch came to us at the end of last year right when we were crunching to donate our last bikes of 2021. His work with us in our busy warehouse made our final containers to partners in Rwanda and Madagascar possible. Tho...
In 2021 we said goodbye to an old trustworthy friend who has been with through so many fairs, events, and training sessions we completely lost count.This blue MTX Giant mountain bike was donated to us when the previous owner outgrew the frame. He went on to college and graduated and we still had the bike in our warehouse! This 'display' bike travel...
This month we are bringing you another dynamite duet, the Brulands. Jeff and Tina have been working with Bikes for the World since 2014. They used to own a car shop (Jeff just recently retired) so they are quite familiar with tools and grease, making them a natural fit in our warehouse. And whenever we find ourselves jammed up in the warehouse...
Honey Jane came to Manila to find a better life, but no one envisioned the path that would ultimately take her back to exactly where she started. We introduced you to Honey Jane back in 2017 when she entered our Bikes for Education program in the Philippines. Then, she was a student at Regional School for the Arts Angono (RLSAA) in M...
Aruna is a Community Health Nurse who uses his bike to deliver covid vaccines to communities surrounding the hospital where he works. He recently received his bike through our partner Village Bicycle Project, but he realized the power of a bicycle when he became a nurse seven years ago. Aruna graduated from nursing school in 2014 and star...
Early last year, Mary graduated from nursing school, transferred to Lunsar, and immediately got a job at the hospital. Then the pandemic hit. She found herself in the middle of a health crisis in a position to make a life saving impact on her community. But her job also put her in a dangerous situation. Her new commute required that she use public ...
Kay and Gary Boughan are the dynamic duo behind the Knights of Columbus 11105/St Paul's Catholic Community annual bike drive. They have been a fixture on the Bikes for the World collection schedule forever. In fact if you've passed by the triangle formed by route 108 and route 124 in Damascus the last Saturday of October, you've likely seen them at...
The demand for bicycles among healthcare workers continues to grow especially in the middle of the current pandemic. Our partners from the Philippines to Madagascar to Sierra Leone are working to ensure front line workers in the medical field have the bikes they need to get to work and complete home visits. This team of doctors and nurses...
Bikes for the World recently had the opportunity to donate bikes to Afghan refugees through the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC). The bikes will help provide transportation to grocery stores, doctors appointments or job interviews. ECDC is working to ease the resettlement of recent Afghan refugees who are making the transit...
Carol Parker: cyclist, supporter, wrencher, promoter, recruiter, and envelope stuffer....need we say more? Yep, now that I see the photos side by side this is absolutely Peter and Carol. This month's featured volunteer is Carol Parker, but it's hard to talk about her (and bikes) without at least mentioning her husband Peter Harnik. One has to wonde...
Last month the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek honored Bikes for the World leaders Keith Oberg, Taylor Jones, and Yvette Hess as Paul Harris Fellows, in recognition of their humanitarian leadership and service in "doing good in the world". The Paul Harris Fellow Award is named for the founder of Rotary International. A $1,000 contribution to the The R...
It was just last year when Les approached us after reading about a friend of his who was a featured volunteer in 2020. Les had recently retired from NPR and loved bikes, so he looked for a volunteer gig where he might have the opportunity to improve his repair skills. When he heard that Walter (Mulbry) had also retired and was spending time in...
When the Quirós family bought a bicycle from their local co-op life immediately got easier. But the family of four quickly outgrew owning just one bike. The first bike Doña Jazmín (seen above) purchased was mostly used by her husband to get to work. So for most of the day she couldn't use the bike to run errands. With the extra ...
Virginia has a successful business with her mother that allowed her to purchase this awesome Specialized Rockhopper. Doña Irma (mom) and Virginia live next to Don Álvaro's co-op but they are not members. When they heard about the shipment of bikes coming to the community they decided to look into getting one to help grow their b...
This month we want to take a moment to honor a legend. Mike McMillion worked for Bikes for the World (2007-2011) and if anyone ever visited King Farm during that time you probably know Mike. Mike ran the Rockville Youth Bike Project which really cemented our place in the bike community in Montgomery County. Mike ran the TERRIFIC bik...
When an injury forced Don Álvaro to stop working, he wasn't sure how he could feed his family. He had always relied on farming for both. But when a shipment of bicycles arrived in his community he seized the opportunity to shift gears and turn his life around. Álvaro comes from a long line of farmers and for as long as he can remember he has w...
Last year during the pandemic the hashtag #AloneTogether was trending. Quarantining at home made us take a look at what it meant to come together to survive alone; we also realized we aren't alone. The same can be said for these small independent entrepreneurs in Costa Rica. Each one of them is succeeding in their own small business, but ...
The moment parents let go and watch their child ride away on two wheels for the first time, they realize the power of a bicycle. We often associate a bike with independence and our newest beneficiaries fully appreciate the importance of freedom and independence. We found Kahvil, Tariq, and Kevin through Free...
Kate Kidwell has been a familiar name around Bikes for the World headquarters for more than a decade now, but only a name without a face. Until social media! Kate has been involved with the Cumberland area bike collection since she moved to the area in the early 2000s, but given the 130 plus miles between us, we only saw her name on ...
When we met Jeremy she didn't even know how to ride a bike, and now she is using it to help support her family! Like so many of us around the world, the pandemic upended life in her household but Jeremy used the same determination that got her on a bike several years ago to help shift her direction. As her mentor, Bikes for the Philippines pivoted ...
When Leila and Romeo received bikes from our partner Bikes for the Philippines they didn't realize they were becoming part of a family. Both beneficiaries encountered hardships over the past year and when Bikes for the Philippines learned of their struggles, they didn't hesitate to act. In fact, the green Kona and red Giant seen above are not ...
During the pandemic, transportation to and from work became an even greater challenge not only to rural communities in the Philippines, but truly everywhere, even in metro Manila. For nurses, janitors, security guards, farmers, and those in the food service industry, working from home was not an option. And when public transportation shut down, bus...
Our latest shipment to the Philippines was stacked with Lily petals, or rather pedals. Flanked might be a better term. Lily (one L, on the left) recruited a team to help prep the bikes we loaded into the container. And Lilly (two Ls, on the right) rolled, lifted, and crammed them into the container. Both come to us by way of great stories...
Making an old bike work is all about how you frame it. And at CESTA they really now how to re-frame it. If you look closely at the bike above (and know anything about bikes) you'll quickly see that this is a handmade 'hybrid'. The front looks more like a child's BMX style bike, while the back appears to be an adult mountain bike. Extensive racks we...
Make some noise for Michael Miehl! Mike has been managing our bike collection at Sherwood High School almost since the last Brood X cicada emergence. He's interested in the little buggers not just because he's a science teacher but, admit it, it's quite a show. But really, what's the buzz about bikes and Sherwood? It's true, we've b...
For many of our beneficiary projects around the world, bikes serve as the vehicle that drives their mission, literally and figuratively. This is very much the case for Learn Work Develop (LWD) in Rwanda, our newest recipient partner. LWD's main focus is to guide and support teen girls who are not fully supported by their families. The bike com...
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