Trek Employees Share The Power Of Bicycles
In 2009, Brandon Buth and a colleague at Trek learned about how the reinvention of the bicycle was empowering communities halfway around the world. Naturally, as bike enthusiasts, they became "extremely passionate" about World Bicycle Relief and began to explore ways to become more involved. At the corporate level, Trek has been a long-time supporter of World Bicycle Relief initiatives, but Brandon and his colleague wanted to create a greater impact through an employee initiative. The idea of donating Trek employee's global commuter miles to WBR in May 2009 became the frontrunner - Trek employees love to bike and could use their love of cycling to have a positive impact on the lives of others. The idea was pitched to Trek upper management and the initiative was approved. Trek would donate $1 for every mile employees biked on their daily commutes.
As Trek employees, Brandon says choosing to support World Bicycle Relief was "an easy choice", and that "bikes are so near and dear to our hearts. We live them, tinker with them, obsess over them and most importantly, realize how powerful they truly are. Bikes just make sense to us".
In all, Trek employees biked 9,200 miles, raising ($9,200) while increasing awareness about the need for access to basic mobility in communities around the world. To Brandon, the initiative was a "veritable win-win situation". In his words, "that's almost 70 bikes donated just for doing something we love to do every day". As a result of this initiative, Trek now allows employees to donate their commuter credits to World Bicycle Relief. This has resulted in over $700 donated since 2009. Brandon and his team also donated a Trek Madone for the Red-Bell 100 fundraising this past June. All in all that's over $10,000 raised from the Trek employee group!
Brandon hopes to inspire others to take the same initiative that he did - "challenge yourself or your colleagues and donate as many bikes as you can. I guarantee you'll have a great time along the way".
This incredible story shows that anyone, at any level, can have a large effect. Brandon saw an opportunity and involved his colleagues worldwide. Empower people through the power of bicycles - become an individual fundraiser, start a company-wide initiative, or simply spread the word about the mobility revolution.
