Bikes Without Borders launch

After months of hard work, our non-profit organization is almost set to launch. Bikes Without Borders is a non-profit organization dedicated to bike-related solutions to community poverty issues, based in Toronto.

The seeds for BWB were planted in a remote jungle community in northern Nicaragua. Visiting a small one-room schoolhouse in the village of Peñas Blancas, I met a young girl from the surrounding countryside. She was about 10, and when I asked her how far away she lived, she responded that it took her two hours to walk to school in each direction. Back then, I didn't know where that innocent comment would lead me, but I vowed to do something to help. 4 hours of walking every day just to get to school seemed wrong.

Fast forward a few years to a hilltop community in Peru called San Pedro de Casta. Last year we delivered couple of shipments of used bikes to San Pedro. The response of the community was amazing, and the effect that a few used bikes had was incredible.

Now BWB is a few weeks away from being a registered non-profit organization, with a board of directors and over two dozen volunteers (and counting). We're launching a line of BWB clothing at MEC this summer, and we've got some incredible programs in the works.

Some of the things we're working on:

-bike events: some to raise money, some to collect bikes, some just for fun
-collecting used bikes in Canada, to distribute to our NGO partners in Guatemala and Peru.
-bike-related programs for youth-at-risk in Canada, including employment programs-a website
-t-shirts and hoodies for our line of BWB-branded clothing (at right)

It's all pretty exciting and inspiring to see the enthusiasm people have for this project. If you'd like to get involved, please e-mail me and let me know where you live and how you'd like to get involved. We're looking for people to help start BWB chapters in their communities, so get involved today!

get involved: Join our Facebook Group
spread the word: Join the Facebook Cause