Cause: World Bicycle Relief

A bicycle in the hands of an African student changes everything. Our bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program aims to provide 50,000 bicycles to students (70% girls), teachers and educational workers in rural Africa. Students with bikes arrive to school safe and ready to learn. Initial results from the program show grades and attendance increasing while child pregnancy and other health risks such as HIV/AIDS rates are decreasing. Bicycle supervisory committees select those students most in need and then oversee their bicycle usage. Every recipient receives basic training regarding bicycle maintenance and safety, and signs a contract of commitment when receiving his or her bike. Families of students also benefit from the bicycle; it is common for a family member to borrow the bicycle to take goods to market during the day while a child is in school, then return it for the student's journey home.

To date, World Bicycle Relief has provided over 16,000 bicycles to students in rural Zambia and Zimbabwe through the Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program.

Word Bicycle Relief's Education Program is just one or the organization's many efforts to provide access to independence and livelihood through The Power of Bicycles. Other programs operated by World Bicycle Relief in partnership with local communities address, Healthcare, Micro-finance, Social Enterprise, Disaster Relief, Mechanics Training and Sustainability.

World Bicycle Relief has distributed over 97,000 specially designed, locally assembled, rugged bicycles in Southeast Asia and Across Africa. The organization has assembly facilities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa.

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Cause: Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation

Bicycling brings joy to kids of all ages – and giving kids access to bicycling can help them succeed in all areas of their lives. By integrating bicycle skills training and opportunities for personal achievement, Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation’s youth programs help kids build healthy, satisfying foundations as they grow into adulthood. Through programs that reach more than 20,000 kids ages six through 18 per year, Cascade is committed to fostering an inclusive culture of bicycling that will continue for generations to come.

Trips for Kids Seattle welcomes disadvantaged urban kids, many of whom have never before ventured into the outdoors, on mountain-biking adventures. They return home with new skills, smiling faces (with a little mud splatter) and important insight into their role in protecting the Puget Sound region’s stunning natural landscape.

Scraper Bikes is an after-school club for kids living at a transitional housing facility near Cascade’s Seattle office. The kids, who come mostly from immigrant families, earn donated bikes by learning basic bike maintenance skills. At the program’s end, they take away more than a bicycle of their own – they also leave with a new sense of self-reliance and creative self-expression.

The Major Taylor Project is a year-round youth development program for under-served high school students. Students meet weekly for group rides lead by adult riders and teen mentors. They also learn about healthy living, bicycle maintenance, road safety awareness and the importance of working toward individual goals. For many, the program culminates in a ride to Portland with Cascade’s 206-mile Group Health STP – no small feat for any teenager.

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