Bikes for the World
Back in November, Youth and Family organized a collection of used bicycles for the organization
Bikes for the World. Bikes for the World is a nonprofit organization that provides bikes to poor people in
developing countries and in the Washington DC metropolitan area. These people use the bikes for transportation to jobs
or schools. Most of the bikes that came from our collection went to help people in Costa Rica.
Volunteers from the
school and parish helped to make the bicycles as small as possible to fit in the enormous containers that would
take them overseas. Volunteers also learned how to efficiently take the pedals off the bicycles and turn the handlebars,
as well as some basic bicycle repair. Rust made repairs slow and complicated but they became easier with liberal amounts
of WD-40. In total we collected 45 bikes and $280 to help pay for the cost of transporting the bikes!
This was a great activity for everyone involved. Donors were able to donate their old bicycles to a good cause, and
needy people gained a bike that could be vital to their livelihood. If you have a bicycle you no longer use, please
consider donating it to
Bikes for the World. You can log on to their web site for more information.
