MAKING A DIFFERENCE by F.K. Day, President of World Bicycle Relief 
GREAT HOPE AND GREAT COMMITMENT   

As I look back at 2009, it was a year full of wonderful moments of hope for the future in spite of some difficulties. Thanks to you, we completed an outstanding year. Our numbers are growing in more ways than one.  This time last year approximately 3,000 people received this newsletter; today that list is up to over 6,000.

In November I saw great joy in the smiles of children receiving bicycles as well as pride in their parents' eyes. Our success in sourcing and delivering bicycles will become the children's success as they use their new bikes to continue their education and contribute to their families' livelihood.  In the coming months, we will share some of these stories with you in this newsletter. 

The difficult times have been near us as we see many close to us lose their jobs and homes and those in Haiti recently losing everything, including family. Many of you have contacted us to inquire about our response and to encourage us to respond. I have reached out to several leading relief organizations operating in Haiti to probe their needs and to make them aware that if called upon, we will support them to the best of our ability. Please read my full statement for more details.

It is with great hope and great commitment that we as a team move forward into 2010, and we could not do it without you, our supporters.

F.K. Day

IN THE NEWS by Dave Neiswander, Head of Africa Operations
THE BICYCLES FOR EDUCATIONAL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM (BEEP): UPDATE JANUARY 2010

Since the launch of the Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP) in June 2009, WBR has successfully delivered 2,574 bicycles to Chongwe and Mumbwa Districts' students, teachers, and community supporters at 19 schools. In addition, we have trained 77 Bicycle Field Mechanics at those schools - promoting both the sustainability of the program through proper maintenance and repair and livelihood opportunities for the mechanics. Our field partnerships with the Ministry of Education, World Vision, CARE, Child Fund Zambia, Expanded Church Response, Reformed Open Community Schools, and the Salvation Army have made these distributions successful. Several pre-distribution meetings at each school are required to educate and empower the local Bicycle Supervisory Committees to identify recipients and enforce proper use of the bicycles. These groups of parents, school officials, traditional and community leaders, and representatives from our field partners listed above help to promote the BEEP and provide strong community support for recipients and the program.

FROM THE FIELD by Allison Augustyn, WBR Intern in Zambia
BICYCLES FOR SCHOOL AND WORK

Emmanuel (left) and Billiard (right) talk with World Bicycle Relief about their new bikes  

World Bicycle Relief recently interviewed two Zambian students who recieved bicycles last fall.  Emmanuel and Billiard have recently passed their exams and graduated from Grade 7 at Kutemwa Community School; they now attend Grade 8 at Lwimba Basic School, some 15km from their homes.  These boys are dedicated to education; Billiard, for example, used to walk four hours each way to get to school, and both boys work to earn money for their books and school fees. 

Now that they have World Bicycle Relief bicycles, their commutes are much shorter, and they have more time to work.  Emmanuel has been so successful with vegetable farming that he taught Billiard to tend gardens as well.  Together, both boys are able to raise food for their families and pay for school at the same time.  Through the power of bicycles, these advanced students are able to get to work, get to school, and expand their knowledge of the world to train others. 

Emmanuel summarized the importance of the bicycles by explaining how they use them: "We don't lend them out often, and we only use our bicycles for school and work.  We don't use them for anything else because we wouldn't want the bicycle to get broken, ever.  We need the bicycles."

Thanks to you, our generous supporters, these teenage boys can finish their education and help feed their families.  This is the Power of Bicycles.

Fat Cyclist presents Johan Bruyneel (left) wth a giant check representing donations to World Bicycle Relief - $69,834 USD raised in less than one week!

Our biggest grassroots fundraiser to date started with a facetious blog entry directed at Johan Bruyneel, trainer for Lance Armstrong's new team, Team RadioShack. On Thursday December 3, Elden Nelson, better known as The Fat Cyclist (or just Fatty), posted an open letter to Johan applying for a spot on the team. He listed "highly proficient at every Microsoft Office product" and "Eagle Scout" as some of his qualifications and noted that his experience as a man of 43 would make him a great role model and mentor to the rest of the team, most in their twenties and thirties.

No one anticipated what happened next. Johan saw the post and responded the next day on his own blog with an invitation to Team RadioShack's training camp the following weekend - provided Fatty could raise $10,000 each for World Bicycle Relief and The Lance Armstrong Foundation before Friday of that week. As an added bonus, if he raised $25,000 for each charity, Johan would give him a brand-new Trek Madone 6 Series bicycle.

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My Mountain supports World Bicycle Relief because we share a common ideal, that a bike has the power to advance every person and community in some way.
Mark Travers of My Mountain

Katie Bolling, Grassroots Development Manager, works with shops across the country and the globe who are interested in weaving World Bicycle Relief into their local community. To date, the program has been a big success: over 120 stores worldwide are participating. My Mountain, a shop located near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, was quick to come on board and held an event that raised over $1,200 USD in just one night. Katie asked Mark Travers of My Mountain to talk a little bit about what led him to support World Bicycle Relief through his shop. Heres his story in his own words:

I had been looking for a charity that My Mountain could support as I feel this is important for any business or organization. It helps keep you on the level, it forces you to appreciate how good you have it, and above all its the right thing to do.  Although there are thousands of charities out there, I didnt feel I had a strong connection with any of them, nor did I fully agree with how the charities were run.  Enter World Bicycle Relief. I first spent around two hours on the website reading through every detail of how, where and for whom it works. I was so impressed I wanted to tell everyone, especially my staff. After a quick explanation of how it works and how I thought supporting WBR fits with our company values, the My Mountain staff agreed whole heartedly, and so it was decided: My Mountain would support and promote World Bicycle Relief.

 

 

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A RAPPSTAR'S RAFFLE: A GRASSROOTS HIGHLIGHT

Looking back at 2009, there were so many highlights in grassroots development at World Bicycle Relief that its difficult to single out one fundraising initiative as being the biggest champion for our cause.  However, there was quite literally a champion among the volunteers, and we want to tell his story. Like us, we hope youll see that Jordan Rappstar Rapp is not only a champion on the Ironman racing circuit, but also an excellent champion for many people in Africa.

After learning about World Bicycle Relief through Zipp, one of his sponsors, Jordan signed autographs for World Bicycle Relief at the Interbike tradeshow in September, just a few weeks after he captured his first professional victory at the Subaru Ironman Canada in August. After interacting with fans at Interbike and spending time learning more about our work - Jordan was determined to do some fundraising of his own in conjunction with his next big race: the Ford Ironman Arizona on November 22nd. In the weeks that followed Interbike, Jordan contacted his many sponsors to see if any would donate products to support his creative fundraising idea: a raffle to benefit World Bicycle Relief.  Raffle tickets were sold at $134 each, the price tag on a World Bicycle Relief bike. Jordans sponsors were quick to come on board and, in a matter of days, Jordan had organized a collective prize package worth over $20,000, orchestrated a social media strategy to endorse his raffle, set up communication lines between himself and the raffles participants and kicked-off the fundraiser...all while training for the Ironman.

Over the next several weeks, Jordans fundraiser shattered every expectation. His original fundraising goal was $15,000 enough to sponsor a World Bicycle Relief school - but when he exceeded that goal (and became the official sponsor of the Lukwipa Basic School in Zambia), Jordan increased the goal with additional prizes and excitement. By the time he was ready to jump in the water in Arizona, Jordan had raised $22,541 for World Bicycle Relief by simply using his resources, relationships and talents to benefit someone other than himself.

 

Jordans epic performance didnt end with fundraising. On the afternoon of November 22nd - with a clock time of 8 hours, 13 minutes and 35 seconds - Jordan finished as champion at the Ford Ironman Arizona while setting a new course record and claiming his second overall title of the year. When asked why he chose to channel so much time and energy towards World Bicycle Relief, Jordan stated, It was truly my honor and my pleasure to be a part of World Bicycle Relief. It was amazing to find an organization that not only effects change in the way that I think is most impactful - by empowering those in need - but also uses a tool that I have a deep personal connection with - bicycles - to do so. I look forward to a long relationship with World Bicycle Relief for many years to come. Well, we do too, Jordan. And we look forward to seeing you win many more races.

A very special thanks to all of Jordans sponsors for their participation. Your support made his raffle an epic success. Jordans sponsors include: SRAM, Zipp, Specialized, Aquaman, FirstEndurance, Speedplay, NormaTec, CycleOps, Kiwami, Highway 12 Winery, Personal Best Nutrition, SaltStick, TPTherapy, Orca Books, & The Mansfield Group.

Saturday, March 6th
Peak Region Bicycle Show Colorado Springs, CO

Thursday, March 18th
Women of Dirt an event to benefit World Bicycle Relief Asheville Pizza and Brewing Co.
Asheville, NC

March 21st March 28th Absa Cape Epic Mountain Bike Race
South Africa
Bart Brentjens, Jelmer Pietersma and team compete to raise awareness for World Bicycle Relief

Saturday, March 27th
Billings, MT
Criterium Race with World Bicycle Relief presence

Sunday, March 28th Ride the Ridge Mountain Bike Race
St. George, VA

Saturday, April 10th Big Ring Cycles fundraiser for World Bicycle Relief Golden, CO

Saturday, April 24th and Sunday, April 25th
St. Andrews Episcopal Church Madison, WI
Events to raise money and awareness for World bicycle Relief

Hosting a World Bicycle Relief event? Please let us know!

Boulder artist, Mike Brouse, holds an event to showcase his bicycle oil paintings in which he will be donating 10% of the sales to World Bicycle Relief.

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Swamis/Nytro host World Bicycle Relief for an awareness night in January, Encinitas, CA.

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An example of what your store can do with our I Ride poster. On this version, My Mountain, a shop in Melbourne, Australia, advertises their donation plan to World Bicycle Relief.

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Call for Volunteers!
Did you know that volunteerism has been linked to improved longevity, quality of life and happiness? Do you want to respond to the new call to action to become a volunteer?

If you are a World Bicycle Relief enthusiast and feel that you have a special skill or great idea to share with the World Bicycle Relief team, please reach out to us. We can use your talents and skills and we fully welcome your initiative to become more active in the World Bicycle Relief community across the globe.

In addition to using your talents in our office, we would also be happy to connect you with other World Bicycle Relief volunteers in your region. For more information, email Katie Bolling at kbolling@worldbicyclerelief.org to receive additional information.

It's easy to get involved as a Team World Bicycle Relief member. Volunteer opportunities are available in the Upcoming Events listing, or visit our web site to learn how you can work within your own community. Get started today!