New Partner in St. Louis

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Published on Monday, 03 June 2013 19:11

Bikes for the World is in St. Louis! Meet our newest partner St. Louis Bicycle Works, who just shipped their first container, with guidance and placement from Bikes for the World.

Bicycle Works has been around longer than BfW, but mainly as an Earn-a-Bike program for youth in St. Louis. They are part of a larger group called BWorks which also sponsors an earn-a-computer program and create-a-book program.

Bicycle Works has been working with Working Bikes for the past five years supplying bikes for shipments out of Chicago. With the help of a scout collecting bikes for BfW in Kentucky, we jump started a shipment earlier this year that was finally loaded this weekend and will be sent to BfW partner CESTA in El Salvador.

Keep reading about St. Louis Bicycle Works and the unique program they started at Marion Federal Penetentiary teaching inmates bike mechanics.

TERRIFIC Kids

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Published on Thursday, 23 May 2013 15:41

We gave away 38 bikes to students who participated in the City of Rockville's TERRIFIC program this year. Student's were required to complete a series of at least six good deeds to earn a bike. Receipents received a certificate from the Mayor of Rockville, a bike from Bikes for the World, and a helmet courtesy of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.

Several kids who earned bikes brought their old one's they had outgrown along with them and donated them to Bikes for the World. One girl in particular, who had recently gotten a new bike, completed the TERRIFIC program and immediately donated her earned bike back into the program.

Read more about how the city's program is teaching kids a life lesson that stands to change lives.

Cool Schools

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Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 20:44

Bikes for the world is going back to school! Just last week alone we were at Fairview Elementary in Fairfax Station VA, Glenwood Middle School in Glenwood MD, Appomattox Regional Governor's School, in Petersburg VA, Wootton High School in Potomac MD, and this week Wolftrap Elementary. Between the schools we collected over 300 bikes that will help people in need get to work or school.

Wednesday May 8th is National Bike to School day. In Vienna VA they declare the whole week a Bike/Walk Challenge and encourage all students to come to school on their own power. Bikes for the World was invited as a guest rider to join Wolfie's Bike Train at Wolftrap Elementary.

Outreach Coordinator, Yvette Hess, joined the kids in their ride to school. "It's a lot like when I rode to school with our beneficiaries in the Philippines. In fact, as these kids grow into bigger bikes, they may donate these very bikes to our program and help kids in another country get to school. How cool is that?"

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DICK'S Sporting Goods and BfW

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Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 19:11

The second annual Trade-in Trade-up promotion at DICK'S Sporting Goods is in full swing. From Sunday, May 5 to Saturday, May 11, consumers will have the opportunity to support the initiative by bringing in their used bike to a local DICK'S Sporting Goods store. Customers who participate in the trade-in will receive a discount toward a new bike purchase.

Bikes for the World will in turn receive those trade-ins as a donation from DICK'S.  DICK'S will again partially process and ship all bikes to our new warehouse location in Pentagon City starting May 22.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal's Market Watch, each bike represents a ticket to an enhanced livelihood through better transportation and generating skilled employment in bicycle repair and maintenance.

Scout Support

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Published on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 17:31

On April 28, 2013 Senthil Kannan of troop 1983 was awarded the prestigious Eagle scout rank. Senthil completed his Eagle scout project with Bikes for the World last fall at REI Fairfax. He collected over 75 bikes, managed a group of about 20, and oversaw the financial aspect and coordination of the entire event.

Several other scouts in troop 1983 became aware of Bikes for the World and showed interest in working on a similar project with BfW in the future. We hope to invite the troop out to Pentagon City this summer for a loading.

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Upcoming April Collections

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Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 17:41

This weekend. Find an upcoming collection in your area. Full details on our collection calendar.

Next week marks Earth Day 2013 and the next two weeks are BUSY at Bikes for the World. Visit our collection schedule above for a full listing of events and to find a collection point in your neighborhood.

Support a community service day AND reclaim your garage by cleaning out your space and donating the unused items at a number of different Earth Friendly events. Some sites are collecting multiple household items such as electronics and BIKES!

El Salvador Loading

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Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 16:56

Bikes for the World started April with a loading at King Farm. The Stone Ridge Crew we work with twice a month started the loading on Wednesday, getting about half the container loaded.

Thursday we were met at the barn by a group we worked with a few years ago from Vermont. The Greenwood School arranges for students to complete a series of community service projects before they go home for spring break and we were lucky enough to have them with us this year.

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Lastest Shipment- Ghana

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Published on Monday, 18 March 2013 16:59

Many thanks to the Howard Gardner School and Meet Up Virginia the two groups who joined us March 15 & 16 for a container loading for Ghana.

We finished up this latest load destined for the Village Bicycle Project in Ghana on Saturday March 16th. With the help of both of these groups, Bikes for the World was able to load over 450 bikes bringing our total to 73,873 bikes shipped to date.

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Volunteer Calendar

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Published on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 17:56

Volunteer Opportunities Spring 2013

Looking to volunteer with Bikes for the World? Whether it's a collection, loading, event, or volunteer night we want you to join us. Check for times and locations that best suit your schedule and contact us to sign up or for more information.

office(at)bikesfortheworld.org

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Bike Shops Accept Donations Year Round

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Published on Monday, 25 February 2013 14:38

New Video. Bike shops are an important part of our operation. This video follows the donation of 10 new Kona Africa bikes from a donor out of the Race Pace Bicycles in Columbia.

Over 15% of all our annual donations come through bike shop retailers in the DC area. Many of these bikes are high quality Independent Bicycle Dealer frames that owners often hold on to for years. These bikes, when properly maintained, often last decades and create memories that are hard to part with. Knowing the bikes will continue to serve familes overseas gives the previous owner peace of mind and creates the space in which they are willing to donate this old bike.

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