Organize a Collection

Organizing a bike collection for Bikes for the World is a great way to engage your community and connect with villages around the world. By helping us find bikes in your neighborhood, you are impacting our local environment and improving lives thousands of miles from home.

"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 nieghborhood and members," -Cindy Brown Collection Manager for Otterbein United Methodist Church in  Hagerstown MD.

A typical collection is a one-time event, sponsored by a local organization and held on a Saturday or Sunday. Volunteers help donors unload bikes, issue receipts on behalf of Bikes for the World, and prepare bike for shipping by compacting them at the collection. Bikes for the World can provide a mentor during the event to assist or answer questions and we also send a truck and driver to remove the bikes at the end of the event.

Collecting bikes is as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Advertise the event
2. Collect donated bikes
3. Prepare bikes for shipping

If you are interested in learning more about hosting a collection or to schedule an event please contact us. You can also access our Collection Guide here.

Below is a short introductory video on how kids can get involved by working with Bikes for the World on a bike collection. We also put a 'similar face' on the bikes being donated by giving a glimpse into our Bikes for Education program supported by our Philippines partner Bikes for the Philippines. 

In the classroom, teachers are able to pool our resources to integrate this service opportunity with an existing curriculum, making it a more complete education experience. Teachers can put together a lesson on a particular area we work with, such as Ghana, to teach students geography or another culture. BfW programs have also tied in with science lessons on the environment, promoting a greener lifestyle, and spurred art activities like producing creative signage for bike donation campaigns. Children and parents work together to raise funds to ship bikes and form work crews to load donated bicycles onto containers that will travel across the world.

"The idea of expanding students' global awareness of life in developing countries where children are unable to attend school or get to the doctor because of the lack of personal transportation was an important concept. The whole notion of our throw-away society was also something we wanted to convey as well as just simple activism and becoming involved in service to others." -Ted Haynie retired school principal and Collection Manager  

Contact us for further information on holding a collection.