Bikes4Kids - Appalachia, USA
Donation protected
In the Spring of 2010, I started Bikes4Kids, a program on my own that has one specific goal: "every kid deserves a bike."
Bikes4Kid is unrelated to similar organizations with similar names. Many of these work locally whereas we work globally and with ALL volunteers. No one gets a stipend, paycheck or salary.
Over the last several years, bicycles have been donated, and I have purchased bikes out of my own money. I have had small fund raisers, but had never asked for donations since I have seen so many other causes with their hand out, becoming more of a nuisance than anything else.
Since the beginning, Bike4Kids has, through various people, organizations and a few charities, delivered bicycles to kids who have either lost theirs by way of nature disasters or crime and even those who have never a bike because of poverty or financial hardship.
Every child who recieves a bike also gets a helmet, bike tools, lubricant and extra tires, tubes, a bike pump, safety instruction and the know-how on caring for their bicycle. This isn't just about getting a child a bike, it's giving them the things they need to keep riding.
Unrelated to B4K but works in tandum with the bike project is Meals4Kids - the effort to also provide meal bars, drinking water and healthy beverage mixes to kids - for the road ahead.
Owning a bike teaches independence, self-reliance, responsibility. Many of the kids have used their bikes for not only fun and transportation but also a stepping stone to earning an income such as paper and magazine routes.
To date, over 5, 984 bicyles have been provided to underprivileged children in the US, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Brasil, Venezuela and Chili.
Now I am asking for funding for a trip to parts of the US that have tried to encouraged cycling programs and endeavored to initiate bike programs in their communities. These are several of the poorest communities in America - along a section of the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina & Virginia.
As a pro cyclist, I firmly believe that cycling in general and bicycles in particular can and do have the capacity to change lives in so many ways.
If you have ever read the book "Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team" by author Tim Lewis, you will know what I mean.
And there are so many ways I can help make this happen with the small amount that I am requesting, especially in light of that fact that I have many bikes ready to go for this endeavor and can make a little money go a long way, not just from my connections but because of my frugalness.
The fund will be used for aquiring a few more bikes, helmets, safety gear, as well a to fund travel (transporting the bicycles). The $2100 I am asking for encompasses about 20% of the overall cost - $10,500 to be exact. The rest will be financed by me personally.
I would be more than appreciative of your help! Thanks very much for your consideration!
William "Crash" MacDuff
Bikes4Kid is unrelated to similar organizations with similar names. Many of these work locally whereas we work globally and with ALL volunteers. No one gets a stipend, paycheck or salary.
Over the last several years, bicycles have been donated, and I have purchased bikes out of my own money. I have had small fund raisers, but had never asked for donations since I have seen so many other causes with their hand out, becoming more of a nuisance than anything else.
Since the beginning, Bike4Kids has, through various people, organizations and a few charities, delivered bicycles to kids who have either lost theirs by way of nature disasters or crime and even those who have never a bike because of poverty or financial hardship.
Every child who recieves a bike also gets a helmet, bike tools, lubricant and extra tires, tubes, a bike pump, safety instruction and the know-how on caring for their bicycle. This isn't just about getting a child a bike, it's giving them the things they need to keep riding.
Unrelated to B4K but works in tandum with the bike project is Meals4Kids - the effort to also provide meal bars, drinking water and healthy beverage mixes to kids - for the road ahead.
Owning a bike teaches independence, self-reliance, responsibility. Many of the kids have used their bikes for not only fun and transportation but also a stepping stone to earning an income such as paper and magazine routes.
To date, over 5, 984 bicyles have been provided to underprivileged children in the US, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Brasil, Venezuela and Chili.
Now I am asking for funding for a trip to parts of the US that have tried to encouraged cycling programs and endeavored to initiate bike programs in their communities. These are several of the poorest communities in America - along a section of the Appalachian Mountains of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina & Virginia.
As a pro cyclist, I firmly believe that cycling in general and bicycles in particular can and do have the capacity to change lives in so many ways.
If you have ever read the book "Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team" by author Tim Lewis, you will know what I mean.
And there are so many ways I can help make this happen with the small amount that I am requesting, especially in light of that fact that I have many bikes ready to go for this endeavor and can make a little money go a long way, not just from my connections but because of my frugalness.
The fund will be used for aquiring a few more bikes, helmets, safety gear, as well a to fund travel (transporting the bicycles). The $2100 I am asking for encompasses about 20% of the overall cost - $10,500 to be exact. The rest will be financed by me personally.
I would be more than appreciative of your help! Thanks very much for your consideration!
William "Crash" MacDuff
Organizer
Crash MacDuff
Organizer
Savannah, GA
