Dear Pedal People,

This summer Pedals for Progress will be celebrating 35 years of operation since our founding in July 1991. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to celebrate this great milestone as we look forward to continuing our mission of sending used bikes and sewing machines to people living in the developing world. Thank you for helping us make a significant difference in the world, rallying behind our modest cause whose humble beginnings in a sleepy town called high bridge resulted in 170,000 bikes and 7,000 sewing machines shipped worldwide.

I’ve always felt that High Bridge was an important backdrop to Pedals for Progress as it informs our small town, community centered, grass roots approach we apply to organizing our collections. As we reflect on our history it is abundantly clear that we must graciously thank the many community groups here in the United States that have helped us collect this wonderful aid across 5 states.

The small towns I have the pleasure to visit are filled with people looking outward to the developing world. It’s clear that the people who volunteer with us are often the most mindful taking stock of the fruitful harvest we have at our hands living in small-town-USA. It’s always amazing to see people who come together once a year to extend a small portion of this abundance to our friends overseas.

Looking abroad, we quickly find that our bikes and machines go directly to people like us living in their own emerging small towns. They want to get to work on time, get to class, or maybe just visit a friend across town. The communities we support hold the same kinds of hopes and dreams we garner in our own lives; they just lack mobility. The bicycles and sewing machines we collect are answers to those hopes and dreams.

We hope that this summer’s newsletter illustrates the wonderful grassroots effort we contribute towards. We are excited to continue this great work around the world and appreciate everyone who has helped make it possible. We have been hard at work distributing from our small corners in the US, to places in Mexico, Rwanda, Tanzania, Belize, Guatemala and Sierra Leonne, putting used bikes and sewing machines to good use. Thank you for 35 years of support!

Sincerely,

Alan Schultz

President, P4P and Sewing Peace