Seeking Seattle-area volunteers on Saturday
The possibility of sending bikes to Africa or building bikes in Africa is on a lot of people's minds this weekend.
The Village Bicycle Project, for instance, is looking for volunteers from the Seattle area to help pack its 100th shipping container full of recycled bicycles on Saturday.
The group based in the Pacific Northwest has sent 45,000 bicycles and 7,000 tools to Ghana over the past 10 years. It also provides the training to teach mechanics how to fix the bikes.
Working through the Peace Corps, the Project has distributed bicycles to 60 communities throughout the country. Next, the group will increase the number of women participating in the program and expand into Sierra Leone.
Kent's Bike Blog says volunteer should show up at Total Reclaim, 1915 South Corgiat Driver, Seattle, at 9 a.m. Check the locater map for directions and Kent's blog for details about the work.
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The business magazine Forbes recently published a short article Frederick K.W. Day and the creation of World Bicycle Relief. Day and his brother Stanley founded bicycle component maker Sram in 1987.
Through donations to World Bicycle Relief, K.W. Day now focuses on building bikes suited for Africa and getting them distributed. So far, World Bicycle Relief has used a local manufacturer to assemble some 25,000 heavy duty bicycles that have gone to AIDS workers and students in Zambia. Forbes writes:
“It's amazing too how a charity with a small budget ($2.5 million) and a staff of 24, including 19 in Zambia, can change thousands of lives, two wheels at a time.”
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In Newnan, Georgia, the Akerfa Zambikes project is one of the beneficiaries of a 12-mile bike ride fund-raiser Saturday morning at the First United Methodist Church. Details at the Times-Herald.
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In Sammamish, Washington, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 15, the ARAS Foundation is collecting bikes for the Village Bicycle Project at Sammamish (WA) City Hall. More details at its website.
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In Montvale, New Jersey, the Pascack Hills High School Environmental Club will collect used bikes on Sunday, May 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the school. The bikes will go to Pedals for Progress, a non–profit organization that recycles the bikes by reconditioning them and distributing them in developing countries.
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Check out this list — “Where to donate your used bicycles”
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