The Elora United Church may have put things in gear with their Wheels of Hope bicycle drive to support the Bicycle Empowerment Network (BEN), but it is the public outreach across Wellington County that has set the wheels in motion.
“The response from our community was overwhelming,” said Wheels of Hope organizer Bonnie Norris, which she attributes to a story in the Wellington Advertiser in April. “From April until August we collected over 300 bikes.”
Norris and her church put out the call for donated mountain bikes, for both adults and children, including bike parts or materials, such as pumps, patch kits and accessories.
Their initial public bike collection was April 28, in conjunction with the Wellington County rain barrel and composter sale at the Grand River Raceway in Elora.
A second collection took place at the Elora United Church on July 7.
Since its launch, the Wheels of Hope committee has offered a free bike pick-up service for people wishing to make a donation. Norris found the connections made with the donors to be as valuable as the donation itself.
“Some of the stories we got when we picked the bicycles were so moving,” she said, referring to stories of people who had lost a child or a parent and wanted to donate their bike. “These bikes have an important personal history.”
Norris has also had people donate funds to help support the bikes on their journey to Africa.
“It was just incredible. It’s been overwhelming the way people have come together,” Norris sad.
Working in conjunction with Bicycles for Humanity, a grassroots organization, the collected bicycles will then be shipped in a container bound for Namibia, Africa.
The container is shared in coordination with a BEN chapter group, St. Bartholomew’s United Church, in Brampton.
“Three hundred of the four hundred bikes being shipped were donated to the Elora United Church from people in Centre Wellington and Wellington County, wherever the Newspaper goes,” Norris said.
She also credits the generosity of the Elora Centre for the Arts, for allowing her non-profit group to participate with a tent during the annual Art in the Yard event, held July 7 and 8 at the centre.
“Art in the Yard was a great event and letting us have a booth, which we shared with Bracelets of Hope, out of Guelph, helped us spread the word,” Norris said.
The surplus of bikes collected allowed for a second sea container shipment, which in turn has reduced the shipping costs.
“This allows us to fund a second container,” Norris said. “We are now working on filling that container. We have bikes and items, including sewing machines, which we also collect, already gathered.”
The containers are sent to the internationally-recognized BEN organization which offers community based centres in remote regions, where people use the bikes for sustainability, allowing them to become vehicles not only for mobility, but for community improvement.
Norris said that once the container arrives in Africa, it becomes a make-shift bike shop, where they are refurbished and distributed.
Local people are trained to become bike mechanics, allowing business opportunities and community resources to grow.
“Our bikes were all shipped to Brampton, loaded into the sea container that departed on Aug. 31, and is now enroute to Namibia,” Norris said. “They are scheduled to arrive there on October 26.”
The success of Wheels of Hope has inspired Norris and her fellow congregation and she hopes the momentum continues.
“I would love to see this grow beyond Elora United Church and have this become a community event,” she said. “People can get involved not only by donating bikes, but could be part of our team to coordinate this.”
Norris was grateful for the volunteer support of groups such as Portage, an adolescent addiction program, whose youth played an important role in preparing the bikes for shipment.
“At the time we had 158 bikes ready to go and they had to have their handlebars turned to fit in the first container,” Norris said. “These kids worked to take the bikes apart to get ready for transport.”
Gary Cooper Chev Olds also donated space for the bikes to be stored and worked on.
“Due to the overwhelming response of this outreach, bikes are still arriving, and some groups are requesting our partnership with their activities. It’s really exciting,” Norris said. “I want to give a big thank-you to the community for their support.”
To learn more about BEN in Namibia, visit benbikes.org.za.
For more information or to arrange a bike pick-up contact Wheels of Hope at 519-843-6144 or by email at wheelsofhope.b4h@gmail.com.
