The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance is sponsoring a used bicycle collection on Saturday, June 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at the West Windsor Community Farmer’s Market. The collection is to help support Pedals for Progress to keep discarded bicycles out of landfills and put them into the hands of less fortunate people outside of the U.S. who need affordable, non-polluting transportation to access health care, jobs, markets, and schools.##M:[more]##
“In our experience from having these bike drives before, people who bring their bikes to donate are happy that they can be contributing to a better solution than that,” says alliance vice-president Susan Conlon, who organizes the event. “When people realize what their mission is and know that the bikes in their garages are not going to end up in a landfill, I think it’s an incentive.”
Usually, the alliance sees about 100 bikes donated every year from around the area during the event, which is in its fourth year, Conlon says. “These bikes are really getting a second life,” she says.
After the bicycles are donated, Pedals for Progress processes and donates them to partner charities in 28 countries, who then train community members in these countries to recondition the bikes and distribute them at low cost to poor, working adults in places like Uganda and Jamaica.
The bikes provide reliable transportation for the recipients, who use them for commuting to school and work, taking produce to market, or accessing health care and other services. It costs $28 to collect, process, ship, rebuild, and redistribute each bicycle, and a donation toward shipping costs is necessary. The suggested minimum is $10 per bike. All cash and material donations are fully tax deductible and a receipt will be available at the collection site.
Members and volunteers will help donors unload their bicycles and prepare them for shipping. The alliance is welcoming additional volunteers and is encouraging high school students looking to fulfill community service requirements to join the effort.
Pedals for Progress is a New Jersey-based nonprofit that has processed and donated over 100,”000 bicycles, 793 used sewing machines, and $10.8 million in new spare parts to partner charities in 28 countries.
For more information, E-mail wwbikeped@gmail.com, or call Ken Carlson at 609-275-6355, or Susan Conlon at 609-936-1916.
The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, www.wwbpa.org. Pedals for Progress, 908-638-4811, p4p.org.
