All posts by Michael Sabrio

2023 Spring Solicitation

June 21, 2023 Michael Sabrio

Spring 2023

Dear Donors, Friends, and Supporters of Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace,

Receiving this letter, you have supported Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace in some form and have aided us in providing people in developing countries with access to reliable transportation and economic opportunity. It is always exciting to know that the work we do in small parking lots in New Jersey and the surrounding areas, is all worth it knowing that the items we collect find new homes with people that need a helping hand.

Last fall, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated collection sponsors and the generosity of donors like you, we were able to ship three containers of bikes and sewing machines to Belize, Guatemala, and Togo. The impact of these donations has been truly incredible, from helping to provide economic opportunities to remote villagers to supporting local feeding programs and mobile medical aid distribution centers. Check out our Spring 2023 Newsletter to read more about these programs.

The spring collection season is always a special one. Shaking off the cold weather fills me with energy and motivation to continue our cause and build on the success we have achieved so far. With your support, we can continue to collect bicycles and sewing machines and provide people with the economic aid they need to build better lives for themselves and their families.

Our fundraising goal for this season is $30,000, which will carry us into the fall and allow us to collect and ship hundreds of bikes and sewing machines to communities in need around the world. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a difference and brings us closer to achieving our goal.

I encourage you to donate today by visiting the Donate page on our website. Your support will help us continue to supply bikes and sewing machines to our range of programs, so that we can continue the positive impact we are having on our neighbors abroad.

Sincerely,

Alan Schultz, President, P4P/SP
Pedals for Progress is a New Jersey 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation.

Belize

P4P Belize Programs, Spring 2023

June 17, 2023 Michael Sabrio

By Alan Schultz
Spring 2023 Newsletter

P4P Belize has several community outreach programs aimed at aiding people throughout Belize City and other parts of the country. The following pieces are descriptions of these programs that illustrate how P4P Belize goes beyond distributing bicycles in their community.

Employment

The sale of bicycles overseas is crucial to Pedals for Progress and our international program’s success. P4P Belize employs young men as sale associates who help Derrick move the items throughout the city, ensuring they reach the people that need access to transportation.

The sales process involves a range of strategies, from larger street market sales to smaller individual transactions arranged through word of mouth or online advertisements. The sales reps earn a commission on the sale of the bikes, with a recommended starting price set by Derrick. This gives the salesmen incentive to maximize their efforts and help Derrick distribute the hundreds of bikes that we send him.

P4P Belize sales rep selling a bike to a Belize City resident

This employment program gives the young men a steady job, reducing the likelihood of them looking for other ways to make their money on the streets. They also aid Derrick in numerous roles within the organization when there is down time while bike sales are slow. By empowering these young men with employment and valuable skills, we not only contribute to their personal growth but also strengthen the overall impact of our mission in Belize.

Feeding Programs

Food insecurity is an issue on a global scale. No matter the direct cause, when families and individuals struggle to get food, becoming self-sufficient is exceedingly difficult.

P4P Belize has a feeding program that reaches out to families who are unable to provide enough food for their households. P4P Belize identifies these families and helps by providing chickens or pigs, which helps alleviate the burden of securing regular meals. Without the daily stress of finding their next meal, families can focus on other crucial responsibilities and pursue employment opportunities. This, in turn, enables them to save more, improve their financial situation, and create a pathway to a better future.

The food provided through this program is partially funded by bike sales. P4P Belize also makes the time to check back in with these families to ensure that their needs have been met sufficiently. This ongoing engagement helps us build strong relationships and ensures that the program has a lasting impact.

Medical Aid

Prior to partnering with P4P, Derrick acquired buses and an RV from the United States through another charitable organization he has partnered with. Driving them down to Belize himself, Derrick was able to get the vehicles into Belize. From there, he has used them for several projects.

Derrick uses them to transport and distribute medical supplies to community members in need. With the size and mobility of the buses and RV, Derrick ensures that essential healthcare resources reach those who require them most. This initiative plays a crucial role in improving access to medical assistance and addressing healthcare disparities in the region.

While not in use for aid, Derrick rents the buses to visiting programs from the United States to earn a passive income. Income generated by the bus rentals are used to offset programs like the feeding programs and other charitable causes. The concept of offsetting program expenses, which P4P advocates for, was already being implemented by P4P Belize in a different context.

Aguacate, Sewing

Partnering with other outreach organizations, Derrick can access more remote areas of the country rather than strictly focusing on Belize City. Derrick has helped set up a small sewing operation in the remote village of Aguacate with the help of Toledo Outreach Center that frequently helps the small community.

During my visit I was able to be present during the day we donated 20 sewing machines to the villagers and a bicycle to the chief. Kicking off this program we met with the women and expressed out gratitude and detailed what we hope to achieve.

Maria training women in Aguacate, Belize

The women in Aguacate are being trained by a woman named Maria Coe who works with the Outreach Center on sewing projects specifically aimed at educating single women how to sew. Through this training program and using the machines provided we will be able to make a lasting change to how the community can earn more.

Alan and Maria with one of her shirts she sells at markets

Going to and from the small village is done only a few times a week when buses bring community members to the nearby town of Punta Gorda on the coast. It is our hope through the sewing program that once the women are trained, they will be able to make repairs to clothing making trips to town less frequent. It will also give the women opportunities to make their own clothes and other merchandise to sell within the village and in town when they do make the trip.

Prison Sewing

Left to right: Derrick Pitts (P4P Belize), Virgilio Murillo (CEO Kolbe Foundation, Belize Central Prison), Alan Schultz (President, P4P), Thomas Beishke (P4P Volunteer and Warehouseman)

The Fall 2022 newsletter has an article on the P4P Belize Sewing Program in the Belize Central Prison. On January 27th 2023 Derrick and I were able to make the starting donation of 20 sewing machines to fully kick start the program. Through his connections with other charitable organizations, Derrick will be able to provide the prison with a volunteer sewing teacher to lead class sessions. Part of a successful reform for incarcerated people requires a reinvestment in the people that found themselves behind bars. Educational aid gives people in Belize Central Prison a chance to continue to better themselves once they are done serving their time. Educating people within prison, giving them tangible skills, makes it easier for them to become productive citizens once outside the walls. If they can use their specialized skill such as sewing, they have a better chance of finding employment. They then will be far less likely to become repeat offenders. In turn this creates a safer nation with a more vivid economy.

Belize, bicycles

Belize Visit, Spring 2023

June 17, 2023 Michael Sabrio

By Alan Schultz
Spring 2023 Newsletter

In the spring of 2022, Pedals for Progress embarked on an exciting partnership with P4P Belize, marking our most recent destination in Central America. We have now made three shipments to P4P Belize and feel that the program has found its stride and will be in a comfortable position to continue the revolving fund system we aim to achieve with our partners. Finding partnerships that can maintain consecutive shipments creates sustainable projects that will make a deeper impact in the communities they serve.

To solidify our connection with the new program in Belize, I had the privilege of visiting the country and meeting Derrick Pitts, the CEO and executive director of P4P Belize, also known as God Cares Outreach within the country. I encourage you to read our previous posts on their programs. While I was visiting, I was able to get a better sense of their operation and their remarkable goals.

P4P Belize is a community outreach organization situated in South Side Belize City, focusing on empowering their neighbors and helping them overcome poverty. Located away from the tourist areas in the north, South Side Belize City faces numerous challenges on multiple fronts.

Leading up to my trip, I was doing research of what to expect in Belize and one recurring piece of advice was to avoid South Side Belize City due to higher crime rates resulting from extreme poverty and other factors.

However, South Side Belize City holds a special significance for Derrick, as it is where he grew up and spent most of his life. It is home to him. While I was working on some bikes, cleaning and reassembling them in preparation for sale, Derrick asked me how it felt to be in the most dangerous part of the city. I replied that I felt perfectly safe. Thanks to Derrick’s assistance and hospitality, I was given the opportunity to explore this overlooked area of the country and meet the people who call it home.

Through our revolving fund system, Derrick can recoup the costs of shipping by selling the items that we send him. Going around the city, we visited the local bike shops that sell Chinese-made bicycles that one would typically find in big box stores in the United States. Brand new bicycles in these shops sell for $200 to $500 in Belize. There are also high-end stores where bikes from brands like Specialized, Giant, Trek, and others are sold for $1,000 to $5,000. With the bikes we send, Derrick can comfortably compete with these stores, offering the community quality bikes for less.

The impact of this partnership is significant. By offering affordable and reliable transportation options, we are not only improving the lives of individuals but also creating economic development in communities like South Side Belize City. Together, we are breaking barriers and creating opportunities for those who need it most.

P4P Belize has several community outreach programs aimed at aiding people throughout Belize City and other parts of the country. Part 2 of this report describes these programs and illustrate how P4P Belize goes beyond distributing bicycles in their community.

Sewing Partners, Uganda

Report from Uganda, April 2023

May 21, 2023 Michael Sabrio

By Mathew Yawe, Executive Director, Mityana Open Troop Foundation
Spring 2023 Newsletter

On behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, allow me to present to you a report of our activities from Janaury to April 2023.

Mityana Open Troop Foundation is a registered Community Based Organization, with a Vocational Skills Training Centre, which recruits and trains vulnerable youths, mostly young girls formerly selling sex for survival and girls expelled from schools due to teenage pregnancies. Currently the project has a total of 111 Trainees, girls and boys.

Learners are trained for two years in sustainable skills such as sewing and fashion design, hair dressing and weaving, motor vehicle mechanics, carpentry & joinery, or metal fabrication.

There are three 3-month training terms per year. For each term the centre recruits whoever wishes to join.

Since the inception of our Vocational Skills Training project in 2007, more than 1,200 have graduated. Some got employed while others set up their own workshops.

Every trainee in the sewing program works with a sewing machine from the Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace Project of the USA to enable proper hands-on training.

Other P4P/SP sewing machines are donated to the graduating youths to enable them to start their own workshops right away. In Uganda, graduating a trainee with only a certificate and no equipment is a waste of time. It’s estimated that 90% of Ugandan graduates can’t afford start-up equipment.

Achievements

The Vocational project held its Eighth Graduation Ceremony on February 11, 2023, when 205 youths graduated with sustainable skills. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola in our Ugandan Operational Districts, this is our first graduation ceremony since the Seventh Graduation Ceremony in November 2018.

Breakdown of graduates:

101 tailors
70 hair dressers
10 domestic electricians
20 motor vehicle mechanics
4 bakers

The project leased a plot of land for growing maize and beans to feed project learners, as buying maize flour and beans from food stores is so expensive.

We also hold talks concerning STIs, HIV/AIDS, youth friendly services, etc.

Income and Expenditure January to April 2023

Exchange rate: 1 U.S. dollar (USD) to 3,300 Uganda shillings (UGX)

	Income January 2023 to April 2023. (USD $)		Expenditure January 2023 to April 2023. (USD $)
1.	School fees contribution from trainees	US $ 2,727	salaries for the Instructors and support staff	US $ 600
2.	Selling of Sewing machines.	US $ 454	Sewing machine shipping from USA	US $ 1600
3.	Sewing & fashion products, embroidering services, face masks.	US $ 110	Trainee feeding	US $ 1000
4.	Carpentry workshop products.	US $ 301	Training working materials.	US $ 500
5.	Government of Uganda, youths skilling program support.	-Nil-	Electricity bills for school, carpentry, sewing shop.	US $ 400
6.	Kolping Mityana Womens Project, 5 Vulnerable Orphanage school fees support.	US $ 500	Computer services & stationary.	US $ 30
7.	Fields of Life Orphanage school fees Support.	US $ 419	Compound slashing / maintaining.	US $ 60
8.	Unbound Kampala Ltd Vulnerable Orphanage school fees Support.	US $ 350	Sewing Show Room & Carpentry Workshop premise Renting.	US $ 597
9.			Firewood	US $ 200
10.			Operational licences / Taxes	US $ 239
11.			Sewing machine servicing	-Nil-
12.			Condolence support to project trainees and teachers, having lost their closest dear ones!	US $ 1000
	TOTALS:	US $ 4,861		US $ 6,226

Challenges / Limitations

The Training Centre lacks clean water. There is a small water tank, 2000 liters, which is emptied in 2 days. Then students have to walk 2 km to get water from unprotected sources.

We lost Rev. Balam Mukwaya in February 2023, a board member who donated to the project land fund.

The organization requires office furniture and staff room, as instructors don’t have a place to sit and keep their kits.

The organization still encounters challenges in raising funds for shipping sewing machines from Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace USA, as the project gives sewing machines to graduates as start-up equipment.

The organization lacks a computer, printer, and photocopier for printing end-of-term exams, and for other office computer work. Currently all computer work is taken to our town to be worked on.

The project needs a computer lab with internet access, to enable students to find dress fashions, learn computer skills, and get health information. In addition, this computer lab would be used by our community volunteers to access the Ministry of Health for health-related issues.

We have many cases of malaria among project trainees, as they lack mosquito nets.

Our project lacks a toilet for boys. Currently boys and girls share one pit latrine, which is not recommended by the Ministry of Education.

The project lacks an incinerator, where sanitary pads and other wastes can be burnt easily.

We lack our own land for growing maize, beans, and potatoes for feeding trainees. The same piece of land could be planted with Robusta coffee and macadamia nuts, cash crops for generating income.

Community Impact

The Mityana Open Troop Vocational Skills Project offers affordable training to school dropouts from our communities, including unemployed youths. The project trainees come from the six surrounding districts: Mityana, Mubende, Kiboga, Kasanda, Kyankwanzi, and Hoima. The non-formal skills training we offer has very much benefited parents whose children have dropped out of school, as most institutions in the area offer formal education only.

Over 800 trainees have graduated since our inception in 2007. These graduates go back to their communities and set up their own workshops, passing along their acquired skills to fellow youths who didn’t join our project.

The community can also buy inexpensive goods and services from trainees in the carpentry workshop and the sewing project, where we make uniforms and offer sewing repair services.

Our sewing shop also offers embroidery services to schools formerly traveling to Kampala.

The Mityana Open Troop Foundation is the only shop in the area delivering high quality used sewing machines at inexpensive prices. The machines are from Sewing Peace USA. Many schools and tailors in the area have been supplied with these machines.

Way Forward and Recommendations

We are fundraising for a new 2-classroom block, to enable us to create a conducive training environment and have room for more students.

We need an incinerator for burning sanitary pads and other waste.

We need a new toilet for boys, who currently share facilities with girls, which is not recommended!

We need embroidery machines with USB input, as the one we have is very slow and requires mechanical servicing all the time!

We are organizing a Christmas children’s party for December 27th, with guest speakers, drinks, cakes, biscuits, music, and gifts.

We welcome volunteers who can teach sustainable skills to our youths. We would like to partner with similar vocational training institutions elsewhere in the world. This will help us learn how they operate. Plus it will help our Ugandan youths create friendships with fellow youths and learn about their cultures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, on behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I extend our sincere thanks to the following great friends / partners who have been so supportive of our activities: Mr. Chris Eldridge, Mr. David Schweidenback and Mr. Alan Schultz of the Sewing Peace Project USA.

I extend our thanks to the generous communities of the USA, who have been donating high-quality refurbished sewing machines to our needy Ugandan communities. Please, the used sewing machines which seem unimportant in the USA have uplifted our communities, changing peoples’ lives by creating a daily source of income. Thanks to all the volunteers involved in the collection of sewing machines and bicycles.

Please Continue Giving a Hand Up, Not a Hand out.

Thanks.

bicycles, Guatemala

Report from Guatemala, Spring 2023: FIDESMA ECOLOBICI Business Project

May 20, 2023 Michael Sabrio

Bicycles in Competition

Over the past 10 years, many young people have entered the sport of cycling from different places in Guatemala because of our bicycles. They began training on local roads, and over time they were encouraged to participate in competitions. These included different categories, for both men and women, using different types of bicycles. Our quality bikes enabled these young people to compete in events all over Guatemala.

In 2022 the Guatemalan National Cycling Competition passed through our home town of San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango. One of the cyclists from the Guatemalan national team is from Itzapa. The bicycle is a symbol of sport, of competition, and of teamwork. It is of great benefit to the children and youth of our towns.

Bicycles in Schools

Also for more than 10 years we have delivered bicycles to teachers in different communities in Chimaltenango, where children win bicycles by holding a raffle or a competition. Many children who have won bicycles use them to go to school, to run family errands, or just to play sports.

Bicycles for Transportation

Many men and women have bought bicycles from our FIDESMA ECOLOBICI bike shop. The bikes are used by women who take their market goods home, by young people who go to work in the urban area of Chimaltenango, and by men who use their bikes to commute to the farms and factories where they work. Using bicycles for transportation saves money they would otherwise spend on bus fares.

Sewing Machines

Sewing machines have always been a very important contribution from Pedals for Progress / Sewing Peace. Each year more than 20 women have benefited from a sewing machine. Women use their sewing machines mainly in their clothing stores. They repair clothing for other people, they make new garments for sale, and they repair clothing for their own families.

Our Resellers

Because of the pandemic, people from around the country were looking for new business opportunities. In parts of Guatemala that we do not get to, some of these people decided to become resellers of our bicycles. They buy loads of our bikes and resell them in their communities for a profit.

Togo

Togo Report, March 2023

April 4, 2023 Michael Sabrio

From: Simon Akouete
Date: March 23, 2023

The whole P4P team are doing well I believe.

I am sending you some photos of the ceremony of the second edition of the International Women’s Rights Day organized by the DRVR-TOGO Association with the Young Women’s Leaders Group (G.J.F.L) here in Vogan-Awlamé in Togo. The theme this year is “For an Inclusive Digital World: Innovation and Technologies for Gender Equality”.

Many events and demonstrations are organized around March 8 to promote women’s rights and equality between women and men. The event is marked first by a women’s caravan with a fanfare group carrying the banner they held in front of the crowd on which you will see the name and logo of Pedals for Progress and an American flag. On the opposite side is the flag of Togo and the name of the Young Women’s Leaders Group, which is one of the groups supervised by the association Challenge and Revolution in Rural Life (DRVR-TOGO). The caravan passes through the surrounding villages, and is followed by a women’s bicycle race with a key message: with bicycles, we have a means of transport that is fast, safe, ecological, and above all economic and adapted to our means for the reinforcement of our small commercial activities.

All our thanks go to P4P, its partners, and to all near and far who supported us for the smooth running of this activity.

Simon Yawo Galé AKOUETE, coordinateur de l’association DRVR-TOGO

Sewing Partners, Uganda

Uganda: Mityana Open Troop Graduation, February 2023

February 21, 2023 Michael Sabrio

Dr. Patrick Byakatonda, Director, Directorate of Industrial Training, has today, 11 Feb 2023, commissioned 252 youths at the Mityana Open Troop Foundation & Vocational Institute.

Business

2022 Annual Report: 10/01/21 to 09/30/22

December 20, 2022 Michael Sabrio

Pedals for Progress, a New Jersey nonprofit corporation, empowers sustainable economic development by recycling bicycles and sewing machines from the U.S. and shipping them to motivated people in the developing world. Pedals for Progress (P4P) is a nonprofit charity incorporated under the laws of New Jersey, and registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code (EIN: 22-3122003). An eleven-member unpaid board of trustees oversees a paid staff of 4 and a network of hundreds of volunteers.

2022 Highlights

Pedals for Progress shipped 5 containers and 3 LCL (Less than Container Load) shipments for a total of 2,322 bicycles, and 514 sewing machines, to 7 nonprofit agency partners in 7 developing countries. This brings cumulative donations shipped since 1991 to 166,006 bicycles, 6,043 sewing machines.

We concentrated our collection operations in New Jersey and in the New York City and Philadelphia suburbs increasing our efficiency. Our bicycle and sewing machine collections were sponsored by 26 community partners in four states.

New Leadership

P4p has a new president. At their 14 August 2022 meeting, the P4P Board of Trustees approved the transition plan that’s been in the works since 2021. David Schweidenback, founder and President from 1991 until now, is now Vice President, International Programs. Alan Schultz is our new President.

2022 Shipments

Recipients of Fiscal 2022 Bicycle Container Shipments

Association Défi et Révolution de la Vie Rural (DRVR), Togo (927 bicycles and 123 sewing machines in two shipments)
Fundación Integral de Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Oriente (FIDESMA), San Andres Ixtapa, Guatemala (470 bikes and 15 sewing machines)
P4P/Belize, Belize (473 bicycles and 100 sewing machines)
Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (452 bicycles and 60 sewing machines)

Started the year 10/1/21 with 315 bicycles in inventory.
Ended the year 9/30/22 with 646 bicycles remaining in inventory.
2022 Total Shipped 2,322, Total Collected 2,503

Bicycle Shipments by Region

	Fiscal 2022	Fiscal 2021
Africa	60%	68%
Asia	0%	0%
Central America	40%	15%
Eastern Europe	0%	17%

Recipients of Fiscal 2022 Sewing Machine LCL Shipments

Rising Hope Foundation for Change, Cameroon (72 sewing machines)
Mityana Open Troop Foundation, Uganda (72 sewing machines)
Hiran Youth Council, Somalia (72 sewing machines)

Started the year 10/1/21 with 73 sewing machines in inventory.
Ended the year 9/30/22 with 220 sewing machines in inventory.
2022 Total Shipped 514, Total Collected 617

Sewing Machines Shipments by Region

	Fiscal 2022	Fiscal 2021
Africa	78%	81%
Asia	0%	0%
Central America	22%	7%
Eastern Europe	0%	12%

Overseas Partners

During the year, Pedals for Progress focused on a small number of reliable partners for the majority of our shipments.

The most critical factors in creating a sustainable, self-financing partnership are shipping costs and effective administration by our overseas partners. Experience has proven that when the shipping costs are at or below $15 per bike or $10 per sewing machine, with good management, this cost is low enough to sustain a self-financing partnership. Without charitable donations, grants or other funding, Pedals for Progress is limited to working primarily in Central America and the Caribbean, while Africa and Eastern Europe require subsidies to pay their higher shipping costs. Overseas distribution success is determined by per unit cost. Landlocked countries remain beyond our reach due to excessive inland transportation costs. Domestic shipping is also expensive; our domestic inland trucking costs to get shipments to port have more than doubled in the last five years.

While our primary goal is to supply environmentally sound transportation to communities and stimulate the greater movement of goods and services, our partners often generate extra funds from the bikes we ship them. These windfall funds, in turn, finance a breadth of community development activities.

Still, we are hopeful that other partner organizations, including some that did not receive bikes in 2022, will pay all or most expenses for new shipments in fiscal 2023, or subsidies will be found to initiate new programs.

Continuing Partners

Cameroon: Rising Hope for Change, Limbe
Guatemala: Fundación Integral de Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Oriente (FIDESMA), San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango
Rwanda: Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association, Kigali
Tanzania: The Norbert and Friends Foundation, Arusha
Togo: Association Défi et Révolution de la Vie Rurale (DRVR), Vogan
Uganda: The Mityana Open Troop Foundation, Mityana
Belize: P4P/Belize, Belize City
Somalia: Hiran Youth Council, Mogadishu

New Partners 2022

P4P/Belize, Belize City, Belize. We shipped a container of 473 bicycles and 100 sewing machines.

Hiran Youth Council, Mogadishu, Somalia. We shipped 72 sewing machines.

Finances

2022 was a turbulent but good year for Pedals for Progress finances. We started fiscal 2022 in a strong financial position with a strong balance sheet. Our operating income relies on four primary income streams: cash donations with bikes and sewing machines, cash donations from the twice-annual solicitation, corporate donations, and revolving funds and fees from our international partners. Solicitations were not as positive as years prior, but larger donations from a few long-term supporters helped us meet our solicitation goals. Direct corporate donations have been decreasing over the past twenty years due to a focus on employee matching programs. As a category, corporate donations also exceeded budget expectations largely due to David’s efforts with a historic donor. Our sustaining international partners are expected to reimburse Pedals for Progress for the cost of containers or LCL shipments. These are categorized as “revolving funds”: the partners save income to pay for successive shipments. This category met expectations as the number of containers shipped to sustaining partners met the plan. Overall, 2022 operating income exceeded budget.

Operating expenses include four large categories: employee and officers compensation, shipping and packing, collections expenses, and office rent. In 2022, employee and officer’s compensation exceeded budget largely due to the addition of the Vice President of Operation. Shipping and packing expenses were higher than expected largely due to the increased cost of shipping and fuel. Collection expenses, office rent, and all remaining minor expenses categories met expectations.

P4P in 2022 had a few extraordinary items. P4P has a conservative investment policy. 2022 was a good period for stocks, bonds, and mutual funds as they generally increased in value. These generated other income for P4P as did some of the stock donations.

Overall, 2022 exceeded financial expectations for P4P.

Balance sheet and profit and loss statements are attached.

Corporate Donors

FedEx logo FedEx continues to deliver to New Jersey, at no cost, the bicycles collected by the Green Mountain Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, based in Burlington, Vermont.

General Pallet, at no cost, supplies the specialized pallets required for international shipping of SP sewing machines.

Thank you to the many corporations that participate through matching gifts.

We are very thankful for the support of these organizations and the recognition they have given us.

Key Volunteers

Pedals for Progress depends on the efforts of volunteers, several hundred of them, to publicize and work collections, prep bikes for shipping, help us warehouse bikes, and eventually load them into containers bound for our partner agencies overseas.

We would like to thank Daryl Detrick with the Warren Hills Regional HS Computer Science Club for all of their volunteer hours helping to pack outgoing shipments. A special thanks to Michael Sabrio for managing at bike collections and taking over the Webmaster duties. We thank our Tinkerers Dennis Smyth and Mary O’Brien for their excellent work refurbishing many of the sewing machines we shipped.

We especially thank these collectors:

Jerry Agasar with the Newtown, PA, Rotary Club: 159 bikes and 21 sewing machines
Casey Walsh with Faith Lutheran Church: 116 bikes and 5 sewing machines
Joanne Heidkamp with the Green Mountain RPCVs: 249 bikes and 155 sewing machines
Christine Potts with St. John’s Episcopal Church: 165 bikes and 24 sewing machines
Daryl Detrick with the Warren Hills HS Computer Science Club: 153 bikes and 53 sewing machines

Program Challenges

Pedals for Progress faced several challenges in our fiscal 2022 year but ended the year on a strong and positive note. Most of these challenges stem from rippling effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic, inflation, and increased prices of gasoline and shipping.

Internally, the organization had to take on a larger budget than usual to ensure an effective transition to our new leadership. As we planned in 2021, Alan Schultz was elected President in August 2022 and founder David Schweidenback became Vice President of International Programs. The internal transition proved to be effective, but the added salary was burdensome.

The bicycles collected this year continue to be the highest quality bikes that we have ever collected. The most common brand name was Trek and we collected over 80% mountain bikes in the adult bike category. The vast majority of bikes we collected were originally sold in a bike shop for a relatively high price. P4P collected almost no lesser quality mass merchandise bikes that are sold at big box stores like Walmart.

Though the quality of bikes was higher than ever, our volume was significantly down due to the pandemic. The fall collection season was successful and helped us ship the majority of our five containers for the 2022 fiscal year. However, spring collections were down significantly as the average number of bikes was lower than years prior. As we are reliant on the success of collections to keep us financially active, we had to rely heavily on our summer solicitation to help us keep up with our added salary line and general operations.

The summer solicitation was not as successful as we would like but by the end of August, we were able to rebound thanks to several large donations from some long-time supporters. These donations allowed us to finish off the year on a positive note and remain cash positive.

Pedals for Progress developed partnerships worldwide to diversify relationships and reduce the risk of events in one country or region negatively affecting our operations. Since reduction of transportation costs is doubtful, we are seeking sponsorships to supplement our African and other high cost partnerships. Partner programs in Central America, which have a landed cost of under $15 per bike, are successful financially and require no further subsidies to continue shipments. P4P inland partners in Eastern Europe and Africa will fail without financial support. International shipping costs in these regions run from $16 per bike on the coast to as high as $38 inland (Uganda).

Shipping the sewing machines within bicycles shipments makes the delivery of these heavy objects affordable. However, our bicycle partners need relatively few sewing machines. The challenge is to find the funding to deliver machines to small sewing programs like the Mityana Open Troop Foundation in Uganda or to get them delivered very inexpensively. Most new sewing projects require only two pallets of machines; we pack 36 machines on a pallet. Due to that low volume, we previously shipped via air freight, which is very expensive. P4P developed in 2013 the capacity to ship by boat individual pallets of sewing machines at a very reasonable cost. This low-cost shipping allows us to expand our small standalone sewing machine projects globally.

Goals for 2023

During fiscal 2023, Pedals for Progress plans to ship approximately 3,600 bicycles and 600 sewing machines. Collection sites where we send our personnel will be limited to New Jersey and the greater suburbs of New York and Philadelphia. Bicycles collected outside this region need to be delivered to our New Jersey warehouse by the collection sponsors.

Pedals for Progress challenges are financial, not supply-side driven. With more funding, we can collect significantly more bikes within our current footprint and initiate more programs internationally. Increasing production requires more staff for attending potential collections and more vehicles on the road. The operational costs of producing the bicycles and sewing machines are significant. P4P is unable to accept bicycles without an accompanying cash donation; this limits production. Most large charities do not like to give money for operational expenses, but in our case, it is the collection efforts that produce the product we deliver. In many ways, you can think of P4P as a trucking company. Every trip in the truck produces more bicycles and sewing machines, our products. These products make the difference globally by helping people in need help themselves.

2022 Board of Trustees

Jamie Acosta
Jerry Agasar
John Alexander, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer
Daryl Detrick
Ann Fitzgerald
Sarah Jannsch
Richard Millhiser, Chair
David Schweidenback, Treasurer and VP, International Programs
Casey Walsh
Andrew Williams
Bob Zeh

Staff

Alan Schultz, President
David Schweidenback, VP, International Programs and Founder
Michael Sabrio, Webmaster
Gary Michel, VP, In-kind donations
Robert Delghiaccio, Warehouseman
Lori Smith, Office Manager

Further information about Pedals for Progress is available at www.p4p.org. This includes our financial statements, IRS Form 990s, and information about our 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax-exempt status.

To receive our newsletters or information on how to collect bikes and/or sewing machines, contact alan@p4p.org. To request a donation of a container of bicycles or sewing machines, contact Dave at dschweidenback@gmail.com.

Guatemala

December 2022: FIDESMA, Guatemala, Container #23

December 14, 2022 Michael Sabrio

Dear David,

We want to inform you that we have the bikes at the FIDESMA Foundation. Because of problems at the shipping companies, we had some trouble getting the container out of the port. The companies resolved their problems and we finally got the container. We have unpacked it. Here is the inventory:

Description	Quantity
Bicycles: mountain, BMX, touring, and road bikes	455
Parts	23 bags: helmets, wheels, saddles, tires, tubes, pedals, baskets, pumps, and various other spare parts
Sewing machines	15
Plywood	9

We are now working to clean, lubricate, and repair the bikes. And we are working on the other activities we must do to make them ready to sell. The bikes will be ready to display in our shop in plenty of time for Christmas. Everything will be fine.

We at FIDESMA thank you for this shipment. We are sure that the people – adults, youths, and children – will be very grateful when we deliver the bicycles to their communities and they can use their bikes for work, sports, exercise, and travel, even travel to places far from home. Everyone thinks that it is a great benefit to be able to use a bicycle.

Margarita Caté de Catú and Colleagues
FIDESMA
December 2022