R COMMUNITY BIKES - OUTREACH and SUPPORT
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Maplewood Neighborhood Event
On Saturday, May 15, we participated in a bike program in conjunction with the Maplewood Library branch and the Rochester Police Department. RCB provided 25 bikes and helmets to refugee kids, after which the Police Department ran a safety clinic. See details and photos...
Pittsford Rotary Bike Drive a HUGE Success!
On Saturday, May 1, this service organization accepted over 500 bicycles plus a number of boxes of bike parts on behalf of R Community Bikes. Although it was advertised for 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, cars were still pulling into the Pittsfor Mendon High School parking lot after 4:00 PM - "Is it too late? I saw your signs, and rushed home to get these bikes." Our sincere thanks to the Rotarians who worked very hard to pull off such an extremely successful event on our behalf!
Sharing Our Story
We are grateful to several of the local news organizations who have helped publicize our activities:
Bike Giveaway Provides Early Christmas for Some, YNN Rochester, Dec. 15 "Appeal Helps Needy Find Wheels," Mike Latona, Catholic Courier, Dec. 11 "Bright Spot: R Bikes - Helping People..." Channel 13 WHAM-TV, July 10 "Bicycles for People in Need Are in Demand," WROC-TV, June 17 2009 "Grin and Shart It," WYSL-AM (1040 KHz), Avon, NY, April 28, 2009 "Bright Spot," Channel 13 WHAM-TV, April 1, 2009 The Greece Post, December, 2008 Cycloculture, July, 2008 Seth Voorhees, R News, Rochester, NY, June, 2008
Members of R Community Bikes are ready and willing to make presentations in the community to groups of any size. The presentations are tailored to the needs and interests of the group and include multimedia when appropriate. Contact us at rcombikes@yahoo.com.
Supporting the Community
December 15, 2009. Local AmeriCorps volunteers gave away 35 bicycles to kids at the North Street Rrecreation Center in Rochester, NY. They obtained the bicycles from R Community Bikes. See video...
November 11, 2009. We are grateful to the large number of AmeriCorps volunteers who joined our regular volunteers today to help reorganize parts, sort wheels and tires, and paint the shop. It was a very successful and useful collaboration!
October 24, 2009. As a participant in Recycle Rochester, R Community Bikes collected two dozen bicycles that we will tune up/repair and recycle into the community. Recycle Rochester, held at the St. Monica Church parking lot at 831 Genesee St., is sponsored by Green Earth Ventures, LLC (www.GreenInfoSource.com), in partnership with the City of Rochester Office of Sustainability, the U of R Student Community, and SWAN Healthy Home.
July 10, 2009. R Community Bikes donated 32 bicycles plus 10 boxes of bike parts and supplies to Bikes for the World. These were part of a combined shipment of over 450 bicycles going to the Women's Prisoners Support Organization in Kampala, Uganda. Check out this YouTube video to learn more about Bikes for the World.
May, 2009. We refurbished and donated four mountain bikes to Netlife Africa, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2005 by Andy Sherman and Jesse Mathews, two medical students at the University of Rochester Medical School. Netlife Africa raises funds for the purchase and distribution of anti-malarial mosquito nets in the Kedougou region of Southeast Senegal. They travel from village to village, distributing the nets and educating villagers about their use and care. Their goal for 2009 is to distribute 16,000 nets in collaboration with Peace Corps workers in Senegal.
April, 2009. R Community Bikes donated 40 bicycles plus several boxes of bike parts to The Village Bicycle Project, part of Bikes for the World. These bikes went to Ithaca, NY, enroute to Ghana where they will be used to provide basic transportation for the poor of that African country. The Village Bicycle Project is part of Cornell University's outreach program. R Community Bikes is very pleased to be involved in this activity in the name of those who have donated bikes to us.
In Africa, a bicycle is more than just a bicycle.
Through an affiliation with Rochester Teen Court, we mentor a number of young people who are completing court-mandated community service assignments. They disassemble bikes, repair tubes, perform minor repairs, and have the opportunity to learn about some positive activities in the community.
Our Generous Supporters
Alert Protective Systems ARC of Monroe Art Parts Signs AV Solutions Baxter Realty Best Printers Brain Injury Association of NYS Catholic Family Center Refugee Resettlement Program Church of the Transfiguration City of Rochester, NY Doubletree Hotel Edison Technical and Occupational Center Felluca Doors Fleming Point Retirement Community Flower City Glass Flower City Habitat for Humanity Greater Rochester Health Foundation Holy Name of Jesus Church Huggers Ski Club Ideal Nissan LD Networking LM Locks Mario's Italian Restaurant and Steak House National Council of Jewish Women Pace Windows and Doors Park Tool Parrone Engineering Penfield Fitness and Racquet Club Penfield United Methodist Preschool ProTech Welding and Fabrication Richard Holtzberg Law Offices R Pizzeria Rochester Area Community Foundation Rochester Fire Department Rochester Institute of Technology Safety & Security Services Rochester Police Department Rustic Village Apartments St. Joseph's House of Hospitality St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church, Hilton, NY St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church St. Monica's Roman Catholic Church St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church St. Salome Church Scott Fiske / Pardi Partnership Architects P.C. The Signery Terry Precision Bicycles TLF Graphics The Bike Zone The Peddlers Bike Shop Trips for Kids The University of Rochester - Wilson Day Program The University of Rochester Security Office U-Haul Moving Center of Greece