A few weeks ago, I gave a lecture in Portland – and gave away a few bucks for some Small Incremental Change as a carbon offset for the flight. The recepient was Patrick Loftus, who used the $50 as a donation to the Community Cycling Center which provides children with their first bikes.
As witnessed below. (That’s Patrick camouflaged into the mural.)
Right now we’ve signed up 435 kids and we plan to bring just shy of 500 bikes! Here’s our Holiday Bike Drive flickr page, with pictures from past events.
The 2012 Holiday Bike Drive happens this coming Sunday, December 9, 2012. It’s an amazing event!
For those of you thinking, “Hey, that would make a nice Christmas present for someone in Vancouver,” Chris Keam, a board member of PEDAL, sends along this suggestion:
For anyone looking for a local (Vancouver) organization that performs a similar service (to Community Cycling Center in Portland), please consider a donation to P.E.D.A.L. — the charitable organization that runs Our Community Bikes, the Pedal Depot, Our Community Bike Club, and other ongoing workshops and services.
From womyn-only bike maintenance classes, to working with a variety of other non-profit groups, the organization fills an important niched in the local cycling community, by making affordable bikes and D-I-Y repair training accessible to anyone, regardless of income or other barriers.
While we’re plugging, I want to mention Kickstand, a new community bike shop on Commercial Drive (at Venables) that has been open for a few months. Currently, they offer OCB-style DIY bike repair and youth earn-a-bike. In the new year, they are expected to expand programming. As a new organization they are working with assistance from PEDAL and Britannia Community Center, but welcome donations and volunteers.
Full disclosure: I volunteer shop time at Kickstand, helping with bike maintenance and repair.