Put Hope, Success and Self-Empowerment Within Reach

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 students like Esther can now focus more time on her education and well-being. Every month Bikes for World supplies over a thousand bikes to our overseas partners. Each quality donated bike sold in places like Ghana can support a family of up to six, helping families to access healthcare, employment and more.

Your contribution puts hope, success and self-empowerment within reach for young women like Esther.

For young people in rural Sierra Leone, attending school means walking 1-1.5 hours or hailing a motorbike taxi. The time and cost associated with getting an education is tough on families. Our donated bikes improve safety, reduce travel time and save families money. Your support allows us to provide Village Bicycle Project with more bikes, tools and resources to expand learn-to-ride courses in communities and schools where few, if any, girls know how to ride a bike.

In the nearly two decades of partnership with Village Bicycle Project your donated bike has helped to better the lives and education of countless children. Program impact data shows that absenteeism decreases by 24 days per school term, graduation rates increase by nearly 20% and overall school commute time is cut by nearly a third.

This is a real substantive change that is made possible by your support. Can we count on you to help us provide opportunities for more young women like Esther?

Every week Bikes for the World provides hands-on team building opportunities that empower our volunteers to make a difference. In 2023 hardly a week passed without at least one school group present in the warehouse volunteering. While volunteers learn to work with their hands, think critically and lean on their peers for support, they generate spare parts which are of critical importance in communities where good quality spares are hard to find.

We are providing more opportunities than ever for girls to get their hands dirty, learn about tools and expand their skill set. For girls at schools like Burgundy Farm Country Day School, National Cathedral School and Academy of the Holy Cross, the Bikes for the World workshop is a space to expand their horizons, bond with their peers and draw a connection between their impact and the benefit to girls in Ghana like Esther.

Your contribution helps us keep the workshop stocked with tools that can change lives here and abroad.

During the past year we made a conscious effort to make a mark in the Washington, DC region and expand local donations. In 2023 our core mechanic volunteers helped us put more than 600 donated bikes back into productive use in the DC area! This includes 50 bikes to youth in Wards 5, 7 and 8 in Washington, DC at the Chocolate City Bike Ride. These bikes will contribute to the mental and physical well-being of youth while also serving as tools for self-empowerment.

Your support helps us deepen the impact of donated bikes locally and globally. Together with you, we're making life better for people all over the world. Thank you for your support now, and throughout the year. 

With Gratitude

Taylor Jones
Executive Director

PS: In 2024 we will be celebrating our 20th year. Your support makes that impending milestone possible. You have contributed nearly 200,000 bikes to over 100 programs in 29 countries. We can't wait to celebrate 20 years of Bikes for the World with you throughout 2024!

Supporters like you keep us moving forward. Donate by check or credit. card (above). Our address is 11720 Parklawn Dr Rockville MD 20852. Please contact us if you have questions about donating through a donor advised fund or by gifts of stocks or securities. Your generous gift has the power to transform the lives of individuals, families, and entire communities.