Get Valentine Moving Under Her Own Power

Hi, folks! My name is Valentine (she/her), and I'm an artist, activist, and community organizer living in Burlington, VT. One of my major personal goals this year is to gain a greater measure of independence and control when it comes to my mobility. You can get me closer to that goal by helping me buy a vehicle.

 

As it stands, I cannot affordably or promptly travel very far beyond the small city in which I live. Given my state's inadequate public transit infrastructure, it can take the better part of 3 hours for a round-trip to a home goods store in the neighboring town. Any employment opportunities not on a bus line become an arduous calculation of whether the offered pay rate is worth the hoops one would have to jump through to reach it. Any friends or family not within one or two bus transfers grow ever more distant as even the act of visiting them costs too much time and energy to justify.

 

Mobility is freedom, and lack thereof curtails my access to employment opportunities, necessary resources, healthcare, and the fulfillment of my social needs. After years of walking for hours to get to and from jobs, missing busses that aren't reliable, and falling out of touch with the people I love who are more than five miles away, I've resolved to scrape and claw my way to greater mobility starting now.

 

Currently, that looks like purchasing an electric bicycle, as it seems like the best option in terms of initial cost, upkeep, regulation, and expected improvement in my range. Car ownership would be more of a financial burden than I could justify at this time, and muscle-powered bicycles are excellent mobility aids - until a hill triggers my asthma. A Class 2-3 ebike, with an extra battery or two, would make for a decent compromise: no gasoline or insurance cost, but with enough assistance to spare me excessive wear and tear on my already aching body and cargo space for at least a medium load of groceries.

 

On my own, I can save up enough money for a low-end ebike from a less-than-trustworthy source if I eat ramen for a few months and delay a bill payment or two. I will do that if I have to. However, with your help, I could buy something better than almost-good-enough: an ebike with a longer life, longer range, higher speed, and higher carrying capacity. Every dollar donated will put me in a better position moving forward with my life.

 

In closing, I'd like to leave you with a long-term dream. The wallpaper for this fundraiser up above? That's a picture of me visiting my mother in Rhode Island, a trip I've only managed twice in the past five years because Greyhound and Amtrak are useless without the ability to move freely once I reach my destination. If I could take transportation with me? I might be able to see my mother more often.