Pedals for Progress
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Pedals for Progress (P4P) is based out of High Bridge, New Jersey, USA. They facilitate bicycle drives across the USA and then ship bicycles to people who need them around the world.
About Us
"The simple solution for the complicated planet"
We rescue bicycles destined for overburdened U.S. landfills and ship them todeveloping countries where they are sorely needed and highly valued. PfP bikes are put to work not only as basic transportation, but are used as asupplement to school and community programs. The bikes are adapted for useas trash haulers, produce trucks, taxis, and farm machinery. Some of the municipalities even sponsor recreational cycling programs, making bikes available to all who care to participate.
When we can establish a program with an overseas partner, the bicycles take onan even greater significance - to keep the bikes working, maintenance is necessary.Children and adults are trained in bicycle maintenance and repair, and the bicycles are sold within the community, fostering the development of a local economy. If a person would like to have a bicycle but cannot pay for it, that person has to work for the shop (and learn a new skill) in order to cover the cost of the bicycle.
PfP also arranges for the bicycle shops to have a supply of tools, parts, accessories, and lubricants for maintaining the bikes. With Pedals for Progress, a bicycle becomes a valuable commodity for trade, employment, transportation, local government - the list goes on. In the countries where PfP has an established Partner Program, the most successful entrepeneurs are the ones who use bicycles to get to work and deliver the goods and service where they are needed most, allowing them to expand their businesses and increase their personal incomes. Medical personnel in remote areas rely on the bicycle to get them to villages not accessible by roads. Without these "mobile bike medics", people in these villages would not get the vaccines or medical attention most of us often take for granted.
Mission Statement
Pedals for Progress envisions a day when:
- North America recycles over half of the 5 million used bicycles discarded each year, as well as unused parts and accessories for reuse overseas.
- Poor people in developing countries have bicycles to get to work, obtain services, and meet other needs.
- The bicycle is an effective tool for self-help in all developing countries.
- Trade regulations enhance international commerce in bicycles and parts.
- Policy makers in developing countries respect and support non-motorized transportation.
Objectives
- To enhance the productivity of low-income workers overseas where reliable, environmentally sound transportation is scarce, by supplying reconditioned bikes at low cost.
- To promote in recipient communities the establishment of self-sustaining bicycle repair facilities, employing local people.
- To provide leadership and innovation throughout North America for the recycling of bicycles, parts, and accessories.
- To reduce dramatically the volume of bicycles, parts, and accessories flowing to landfills.
- To foster environmentally sound transportation policies that encourage widespread use of bicycles worldwide.
- To foster in the North American public an understanding of and a channel for responding to the transportation needs of the poor in developing countries.
2006 Collection Guide
International Bicycle Aid
Pedals for Progress has shipped bikes to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Uganda, Moldova, and Guatemala.