7 ways you’ve improved lives with CHANGE bikes

We haven’t mentioned this before, but bikes from Flatbike don’t just ship for FREE anywhere in the country; they also ship with a mission. With each new bike we send, we add a little extra to do a little extra, through four bike-related charities.

You help make these happen with every new bike.

At race after race, two outdoor-loving sisters looked around the start line at an almost complete lack of girls. It was sad. The status quo of sports at that time created an environment where teenage self-esteem tends to decrease in girls and increase in boys. So in 2007, they created Little Bellas, focused on girls ages 7-16.

They aim to create a community that will empower girls through the sport, emphasize the importance of goal-setting, promote healthy life styles and recognize the positive effects of strong female bonds. While this program is centered around creating camaraderie for girls on bikes, it is most importantly about having fun in a constructive environment. Now, 2,800 girls later, the first wave of girls have grown into strong women advocates and parents and the empowerment network is stronger than ever.

The Amy D Foundation encourages and supports young women through cycling, inspiring the celebration of healthy challenge and empowering the confident pursuit of lofty dreams. Alison Dombroski was a versatile cyclist with U23 National Championship titles in road, mountain, and cyclocross. She had an uncanny ability to transform challenges she faced in her own life into intense positive focus.  The tattoo of a lighting bolt that Amy bore on her wrist served as a remembrance of her mother’s tragic death, and provided her a daily source of motivation.

Trips for Kids is the nation’s largest youth development bicycling organization. It has enriched the lives of over 185,000 young people across North America using a simple yet powerful tool – the bicycle.  Started in 1988, it has grown organically to 75 chapters offering free bicycling programs for up to 35,000 youth annually in the US and Canada.

Young people aged 10-17, mostly underserved, come to Trips for Kids from neighborhoods, schools, agencies and community organizations. Trail Rides, Earn-a-Bike, Mobile, Recyclery and other youth development programs are helping to combat the physical inactivity crisis, promote equitable access to safe places to play and exercise, provide opportunities for physical activity in and out of school, and build self-esteem, personal skills and learn environmental stewardship, thus mentoring youth to achieve better life outcomes.

Founded in 2009, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (“NICA”) develops interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States. NICA provides leadership, services and governance for regional leagues to produce quality mountain bike events, and supports every student-athlete in the development of strong body, strong mind and strong character through interscholastic cycling.

Even a used bike makes a huge difference.

We didn’t know how to price our three used, 2017 demo bikes, so in our first-ever Flatbike demo sale, we let bidders on eBay set prices for us. The proceeds will go to their favorite bike-related charities. That’s nearly a thousand more dollars for these three charities…

BikeHouston is the only non-profit bicycle advocacy group in Houston–and has recently transformed from volunteer to professionally run. Its mission is to transform the city by creating safe bikeways to improve the quality of life of all Houstonians. They do this through partnering with the city and other organizations to expand the mileage and access to high quality bike lanes and trails, to educate all road users, and to enhance enforcement of the laws that save lives.

BikeSD is an independent, non-government, member-supported, non-profit advocacy organization. Its mission is to establish San Diego as a world-class bicycling city and creating a more livable urban community by promoting everyday riding and advocating for bicycling infrastructure. While supporting the recent rollout of bike sharing networks in the city, they are working diligently on the bigger underlying problem here and in many other cities.

 

Wheels4Life provides bicycles to people in great need of transportation throughout the developing world. They work with volunteers in the field, local organizations and non profits, schools, community leaders and health care clinics to identify  people in genuine need of a bike.

These people live in both primitive and remote areas, with no access to, nor the means of affording public transportation. The closest school, doctor, or work place might be as far as 10 to 20 miles away.The gift of mobility can make all the difference to a person’s life and help them to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Wheels4Life has delivered over 10,800 bikes to developing countries.

Together, that’s seven ways your interactions with Flatbike have improved lives in the US, North America, and even on other continents. Best wishes for a safe, peaceful, and joyous holiday season from Flatbike.

Bob Forgrave is president of Flatbike, an
ecommerce company offering full-size folding bikes
and kits to make any bike take up half the space.

425-985-6219

---